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Prince George Turns 11: His Year in Pictures


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.

Prince George 11th Birthday
Prince George as photographed at the Trooping the Colour celebrations in London on June 15, and (inset) with Taylor Swift and Princess Charlotte in London on June 21. The prince celebrates his 11th birthday on…


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.

Prince George 10th Birthday Portrait
To celebrate his 10th birthday in 2023, Prince William and Princess Kate released a new photo of George taken at Windsor Castle by photographer Millie Pilkington.

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.

Prince George Rugby World Cup 2023
Prince George photographed with Prince William at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France, on October 14, 2023. The prince watched as the Welsh national team played against Argentina in the Rugby World Cup.

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.

Prince George "Together at Christmas" Service
Prince George photographed with Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Louis and the Dean of Westminster at the “Together at Christmas” carol service at Westminster Abbey on December 8, 2023.

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.

Prince George Christmas Walkabout
Prince George photographed with Princess Kate meeting members of the public at Sandringham on Christmas Day 2023.

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.

Prince George Mother's Day
Prince George photographed in March with Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Princess Kate in a portrait taken by Prince William to celebrate Mother’s Day in Britain. The photo sparked an editing controversy.

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.

Prince George Soccer Final
Prince George photographed with Prince William attending the Football Association Cup Final between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London on May 25.

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.

Prince George Trooping the Colour
Prince George photographed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour celebrations with Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte on June 15.

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 and Prince George
Prince George photographed with Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Prince William and Princess Charlotte at a performance of the singer’s Eras Tour in London on June 21.

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.”

Prince George Beach
Prince George photographed jumping a sand dune with Prince William, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in Norfolk, England, last month. The photo was taken by Princess Kate and released to mark William’s 42nd birthday.

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.

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