New photo of Princess Charlotte features the same £42 cardigan she wore in Kate Middleton's controversial Mother's Day snap

Princess Charlotte turns nine today, and although she was casually dressed for her birthday portrait, her mother Kate made sure to choose pieces with an air of 'quiet luxury'.

The princess, who is third in line to the throne, beamed for the adorable picture, which was taken by her mother Kate Middleton to mark her special day, wearing a £42 raspberry cardigan from Parisian brand Cyrillus, teamed with a denim skirt from the same label.

The upmarket brand specialises in 'couture-inspired' pieces that make 'chic and beautiful elegance accessible'.

She completed her ensemble with a navy wool jumper, which featured a floral collar, and navy tights.

Eagle-eyed royal watchers will recognise the cardigan from the controversial Mother's Day photo of Kate and her children, which was later pulled by picture agencies because it had been digitally manipulated. 

Princess Charlotte re-wore the wool cardigan, which she previously donned in Kate's controversial Mother's Day portrait, in ninth birthday portrait on Thursday 

The denim skirt was also a re-wear and featured in snaps of Charlotte visiting a baby bank near Windsor at Christmas 2023 - teamed with another red top from Cyrillus.

The princesses long blonde locks fell loose around her shoulders as she gave a cheeky grin to the camera. 

 The youngster appeared to pay a sweet homage to her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she posed alongside pale pink flowers named in her honour. 

The blooms - known as Clematis montana var. rubens cultivar - are one of the first plants named after the monarch, as reported by Gardens Illustrated.

A winning combo! At Christmas 2023, Charlotte wore the same denim skirt featured in her birthday portrait on a visit to a baby bank near Windsor. It was teamed with another red top from Cyrillus

The photograph was posted on the royal couple's official X account, formerly known as Twitter, with the words 'Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all the kind messages today' and a cake emoji. 

Charlotte was previously spotted in the pretty cardigan in Kate's controversial Mother's Day portrait. 

In March, royal fans went into meltdown after Associated Press issued a 'kill notice' on a photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children that had been released for Mother's Day.

It was the first official photo that was published of Kate after she underwent abdominal surgery in January.

That evening, the Associated Press became the first agency to 'kill' the photo over an 'inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand'.

Charlotte was previously spotted in the pretty cardigan in Kate's controversial Mother's Day portrait

It appeared Charlotte's hand was copied over from another picture as there is an empty space where her sleeve should be

Charlotte's hair seemed to end abruptly on her shoulder on her right despite her hair on the left going on for a few inches

While AP said there was no suggestion the photo was fake, it retracted it because it said on closer inspection, the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet the agency's photo standards.

The most common 'editing errors' found were Kate's absent wedding ring, Charlotte's blurred skirt and her partially missing sleeve on her cardigan and Kate's misaligned zip. 

The following day, the Princess of Wales admitted that she edited the Mother's Day photo herself and apologised for 'any confusion' it had caused.

A statement from the Princess of Wales said: 'Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.

'I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C'

For their daughter's birthday last year, the couple released two images of a beaming Charlotte. In one, she gave her mother a gap-toothed grin to mark the occasion 

In another, she was pictured in a blue-and-white striped jumper from Boden as she snuggled up with the family's beloved black cocker spaniel Orla 

Two weeks later, the Princess of Wales announced she was battling cancer - amid mounting pressure for the Palace to comment on her condition. 

It is believed that the Princess of Wales announced her cancer diagnosis on 22 March as this was the day George, Charlotte and Louis broke up from Lambrook School in Bracknell for their Easter break.

The announcement may have been timed so that her children would not immediately face questions in the playground after the news was made public.

The family are reported to have spent the Easter holidays together as they adjust to Kate's diagnosis, which was discovered in post-operative tests following her major abdominal surgery.  

Meanwhile fans all over the world who were eagerly anticipating a new picture of Charlotte on her birthday were kept waiting a little longer than they had hoped to see a picture.

Today, Kate and William broke tradition for the second time in weeks by delaying the release of her birthday portrait until late morning on the big day.

Kensington Palace typically releases portraits of the Wales children at midnight to mark their birthdays, but Charlotte's snap - which was captured by her mother - was held back. 

The Princess of Wales recently revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing major abdominal surgery in London in January

William has been stepping up royal engagements in Kate's absence. Pictured: Prince William and Princess Kate are seen at a  ceremonial welcome for The President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21 last year

Mother-of-three Kate, who is undergoing cancer treatment, also delayed releasing a snap of her youngest son, Prince Louis, to mark his sixth birthday last month, with the image not appearing until the afternoon.

The Mail's Rebecca English revealed that the couple had initially decided not to issue a picture of Louis at all given their recent appeals for privacy at such an ‘unprecedented’ time for their family, but changed their minds because they wanted to thank fans for their kind wishes to Prince Louis. 

And in conversation with The Express royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added that once they'd decided to release a photo there were likely a lot of discussions about the best approach, given the furore over Kate's edited Mother's Day photo.

Overall, Richard said the timing could 'emphasise Kate's need for time, space and privacy.'

Describing the 'vexed' issue of her Mother's Day portrait, he described the backlash as a 'highly embarrassing contretemps'.

He added that not rushing out a birthday photo of Louis could also 'emphasise her need for time, space and privacy which she expressed so movingly' in the video message revealing she has cancer.

Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales detailed how the cancerous cells were discovered, while she was undergoing surgery for a different condition in January.

She explained that she had not spoken out about it earlier because she wanted to have time to 'explain everything' to George, Charlotte and Louis and assure them 'I'm going to be ok'.