Prince William Just Turned 44, and This Year It Landed on Father’s Day
Happy birthday to the Prince of Wales.
William turned 44 today on June 21, and Kensington Palace marked the day by releasing a previously unseen photo of him with Princess Charlotte, taken in the Kensington Palace garden right after he got home from Trooping the Color.
Sweet timing, considering his birthday landed on the same day as Father’s Day this year. The caption read
“Happy birthday and Father’s Day to the best Papa in the World!”
and was signed off by Catherine, George, Charlotte, and Louis.
A bit of family trivia while we’re here.
William became a dad for the first time when George was born in 2013, then Charlotte in 2015, and Louis rounded things out in 2018. Three kids, eleven years married, and somehow he still got a candid garden photo with his middle child on his actual birthday. Royal life, but make it relatable.
There’s also a quirky bit of royal trivia tied to his birthday this year.
British monarchs traditionally get two birthdays ; their real one and an official public one, usually celebrated in June through Trooping the Color, because June weather is more reliable for an outdoor parade than, say, November.
William’s actual birthday already falls in June. Royal watchers have started speculating that when he becomes King, he might just scrap the second, official birthday altogether since his real one already lines up with the season normally used for the celebration. A former royal butler even weighed in, suggesting there’s less practical need for William to keep the tradition going.
Whether that change actually happens is years away. For now, the focus is simpler: a 44th birthday, a quiet family photo, and a Father’s Day that happened to land on the same date. Sometimes the calendar does you a favor.
Happy Father’s Day to every Dad out there!
