Prince William and Princess Kate’s eldest son, Prince George, celebrates his 11th birthday on July 22, coming after a difficult year for the Wales family.
George has attended a number of high-profile events over the past 12 months, including the annual royal Christmas Day service at Sandringham with King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as the Trooping the Colour celebrations in London.
For the first months of 2024, George, like his siblings, remained mostly out of the public eye while Princess Kate recovered from abdominal surgery and began her preventive chemotherapy treatment following a cancer diagnosis.
Karwai Tang/WireImage/Taylor Swift/X
Despite this, the prince has accompanied his father to high-stakes sports games, featured in touching family portraits and even met global superstar Taylor Swift.
Here, Newsweek looks at Prince George’s year in photos on his birthday, from sports matches to royal ceremonies.
Birthday Prince
In 2023, to mark his 10th birthday, Prince William and Princess Kate released a new portrait of their eldest son taken on the grounds of Windsor Castle by a favorite family photographer, Millie Pilkington.
The prince took a relaxed pose highlighting his beaming smile, wearing a casual outfit of checked shirt, green chinos and brown suede shoes.
Millie Pilkington/Prince and Princess of Wales/X
Rugby World Cup
In October 2023, George accompanied his father to watch the Welsh national team take on Argentina in a quarterfinal match of the Rugby World Cup in Marseille, France.
Unfortunately for the royals, the Wales team was not victorious, losing 17-29 to the Argentines.
David Rogers/Getty Images
Together at Christmas
In December, George and his siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, were present for the “Together at Christmas” carol concert hosted at Westminster Abbey by their mother, Kate.
The Wales children took part in a candlelit section of the service and watched guest performers pay tribute to the work of community members around Britain in the early years field.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Festive Family Walkabout
On Christmas Day, George took part in the annual royal walkabout after a church service with King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England.
The prince and his siblings were photographed walking to church with the family and meeting members of the public afterward.
Stephen Pond/Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Mother’s Day
After the announcement that Princess Kate had undergone abdominal surgery in January, the royal and her three children were not seen in an official photograph again until three months later when a portrait was released to mark Mother’s Day in Britain.
The photo, taken by Prince William and edited by Kate, showed the princess surrounded by her smiling children, with George at the top in the center.
The images sparked a major controversy when traces of editing were identified in the frame, leading Kate to apologize for any confusion caused. This saw speculation about the royal grow until her cancer announcement 13 days later.
The Prince of Wales/X
Soccer Final
George was treated to another major sports day out with his father in May, when both royals attended the Football Association Cup final soccer game at Wembley Stadium in London to watch the Manchester United team take on Manchester City.
The prince was photographed looking over the silver cup and shaking hands with players as Manchester City took the victory by a 2-1 score.
Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Trooping the Colour
The first official event attended by all members of the Wales family in 2024 was the Trooping the Colour celebrations in London on June 15.
Princess Kate released a positive health update the day before, saying she was looking forward to attending with her family, and that though still receiving chemotherapy treatment she hoped to begin undertaking more appearances over the summer.
George was photographed with his parents and siblings on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the military flyover portion of the event.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Taylor Swift
Days after the Trooping the Colour event, George was photographed at Wembley Stadium with Prince William and Princess Charlotte at a performance of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
The event took place on William’s birthday and both Kensington Palace and Swift released backstage photographs of the royal group meeting the singer and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.
Taylor Swift/X
Family Fun
To mark Prince William’s 42nd birthday on June 21, Princess Kate released a never-seen photograph of the royal and his three children that had been taken during a family visit to Norfolk that same month.
In the portrait, Prince George is seen jumping with his siblings and father over a sand dune on the beach, and was captioned by Kate: “Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx.”
The Princess of Wales/X
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about Charles and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.