The never-before-seen picture was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales' Instagram and Twitter accounts on Friday.
“Today would have been Her Late MajestyQueen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday,” read the caption. “This photograph — showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren — was taken at Balmoral last summer.”
Also in the picture are Zara (the Queen’s granddaughter) and Mike Tindall’s three children — Mia, 9, Lena, 4, and Lucas, 2. Meanwhile, Peter Phillips' two daughters, Savannah (seated next to the Queen), 12, and Isla, 11, smile for the portrait.
Two grandchildren ofQueen Elizabeth’s are also pictured.Prince Edwardand his wifeSophie’s sonJames,15, andLady Louise Windsor, 19, can be seen standing at the back of the picture.
Queen Elizabethhad eight grandchildren — although Lady Louise and James posed for the photo,Prince William,Prince Harry,Princess Beatrice,Princess Eugenie, Zara and Peter are not pictured.
Some of Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren also missed the photo op: Prince Harry andMeghan Markle’s children Prince Archie andPrincess Lilibet, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s son August and Princess Beatrice’s daughter Sienna. (Princess Eugenie is currently pregnant with her second child, due this summer, who will be the first of Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren born following her death.)
Handout/The Princess of Wales/Kensington Palace via Getty Images
The image ofQueen Elizabethwas taken during a family trip to Balmoral, the Scotland residence where the late monarch traditionally spent her summers. Shepassed away there “peacefully"on September 8.
Princess Kate is a keen photographer and regularly snaps official photographs of her three children. In recent years, the royal family has released more of her private photos, including a similar photo ofQueen ElizabethandPrince Philipwith some of their great-grandchildren taken in 2018 that was shared publicly followingPrince Philip’s death in April 2021.
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The caption continued, “When King George VI died in February 1952, Princess Elizabeth becameQueen ElizabethII when she was just 25. Her Majesty went on to be Britain’s longest reigning Monarch - the only one in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.”
For what would be the final birthday of her life in April 2022, when she turned 96, the palace released anew photo of Queen Elizabeth. The majestic shot, which was taken on the grounds of Windsor Castle, showed the Queen standing proudly between two of her white fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. She wore a dark green cape-style coat as she holds the reins of two of her favorite horses in front of a magnolia tree.
Throughout her life,Queen Elizabethwas always fond of horses and was given her first horse (a Shetland pony) when she was just 4. She was known to get animated at horse racing events, enthusiastically cheering for her horses.
source: people.com
