Prince George the spitting image of his dad in 9th birthday photo: 'A little William'
A happy birthday is in order for Prince George, the eldest Cambridge child and third in line to the throne, who turned nine on Friday 22 July.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge marked the occasion with a new portrait on their Instagram page, posted on Thursday.
“George is turning 9!” wrote the caption, followed by a birthday cake and balloon emoji.
The young royal is seen grinning from ear-to-ear in the image taken by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, on a sandy beach as the family holidayed in the UK earlier this year.
The Queen’s great-grandson wore a pale blue polo shirt by JCrew in the picture, but it's his striking resemblance to his father Prince William that has fans and followers turning their heads.
“What a fantastic photo!” one fan commented on the Instagram post. “George looks so much like his dad.”
“He looks just like William to me!” wrote another, and royal fans noticing the resemblance didn’t stop there.
“He’s looking so much like his daddy these days!” wrote one fan, whilst another added “wow a little William spitting image.”
Read more: Prince George looks dapper as he joins parents William and Kate for first Wimbledon
It's not the first time social media users have been vocal about the Prince William mini-me.
As Prince George upped his public appearances earlier this year for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, fans couldn’t help but draw comparisons on Prince William’s public appearances when he was around the same age.
The pair were spotted side-by-side sporting very similar facial expressions at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert over the central Platinum Jubilee weekend, and also greeted crowds together at Cardiff Castle in Wales in matching navy suits.
It follows their appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the Trooping the Colour ceremony which many likened to Prince William’s appearance when he was eight years old in 1990.
In a post on Twitter one person wrote at the time: "Love how George is Prince William's little mini-me."
Another commented: "Doesn’t royal highness Prince George look like his dad, his royal highness Prince William?"
A third shared: "George is Wills' spitting image."
Read more: 43 gorgeous photos of Prince George, the oldest Cambridge child
Whilst of course the young royal is going to look somewhat like his father (that’s genetics right?) Prince George looks strikingly similar to how his father looked at the same age, with almost identical blonde hairstyles.
That fact that Prince William has been in the spotlight since he was a baby, and the public has a back catalogue of archival photos to compare can’t help but show the uncanny resemblance, too.
As Prince George celebrates his ninth birthday with a new portrait which bears a striking resemblance to Prince William, we look at all the times the father-son duo looks exactly the same.
All the times Prince George looked exactly like his father, Prince William
