Kensington Palace has released the Christmas photos for the royal family, and the young ones took the spotlight. Prince William and Kate Middleton's children looked adorable, but fans may have missed out one tiny detail about the kids.
The palace released a slew of Christmas photos in keeping with tradition and one includes an adorable snap of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The family appears comfortable and laidback as they sit on a tree dress down in autumnal shades. Photographer Matt Porteous took the picture at the family's home in Anmer Hall.
If you look closely at the portrait, you might just see one familiar item of clothing. The blue sweater that the 3-year-old Princess Charlotte is wearing is not new. On the contrary, it already made the news in April 2016. The cardigan is none other than the one Prince George wore for a pictorial with his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, to celebrate her 90th birthday. The portrait shows the British royal flocked by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
View this post on Instagram@the_british_monarchy have just released this photograph of The Queen surrounded by her two youngest grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, to mark Her Majesty's 90th birthday. This is the first in a series of three official photographs. It was taken at Windsor Castle just after Easter by renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz. #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Apr 20, 2016 at 4:13pm PDT
Princess Charlotte also did not wear the cardigan for the Christmas photo alone. She also donned it to welcome the arrival of her younger brother Prince Louis. She wore the same cardigan for a family portrait with the then one-month-old prince taken by her mother at Kensington Palace.
View this post on InstagramThe Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, taken by The Duchess at Kensington Palace. This image was taken on 2nd May, on Princess Charlotte’s third Birthday. The Duke and Duchess would like to thank members of the public for their kind messages following the birth of Prince Louis, and for Princess Charlotte’s third birthday. A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on May 5, 2018 at 4:00pm PDT
The blue knitted cardigan is from Spanish brand Fina Ejerique. Ana Perez, the creative director behind the brand, once expressed her honor that their product has become one of the favorite pieces of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Prince William and Kate Middleton had recycled the clothing more than twice base on the Christmas photo.
Princess Charlotte has her mother to thank for dressing her up for the Christmas photo. After all, Kate Middleton is a fan of recycling old clothing. The Duchess is known to wear her favorite looks for different occasions and she sure has passed this practice on to her children. Kate Middleton wore the teal Jenny Packham dress twice, one at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2012 and recently during the 2018 Conservation Awards.
The blue sweater clearly has a place in the history in Prince William and Kate Middleton's family portraits. It also holds a sentimental meaning to the royal family's newest generation.
It is also worth mentioning that Princess Charlotte is not the only one wearing a hand-me-down in the Christmas photo. Followers noticed that Prince Louis is also wearing the same shorts Prince George wore for his Christmas portrait in 2014.
