The grandchildren who appeared in the Queen’s birthday picture

The royal family have shared an adorable picture of the late Queen with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but not all of them could make it for the snap. 

The late sovereign can be seen sitting with eight of her 12 great-grandchildren in a heart-warming photographed taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral last summer. Lady Louise Windsor, 19, and her brother James, Viscount Severn, 15, can also be seen standing behind their grandmother on the sunny summer day. 

Some of the great-grandchildren were however missing, including the children of Montecito-based Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the son of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank August and the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edo Mappeli Mozzi. 

The snap was shared on the official social media accounts of The Prince and Princess of Wales to mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 97th birthday. 

It offers the opportunity to reflect on how much the royal children have changed since a similar picture, also taken by Kate Middleton in 2018, and showed the late Monarch with the late Duke of Edinburgh and their great-grandchildren. 

Lady Louise Windsor

Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn did not appear in the 2018 snap, but stand tall and proud behind their grandmother in the picture shared today. 

In the snap Louise is wearing a discreet floral shirt, with her blonde locks tied in a tidy ponytail. 

Louise, who is currently studying at St Andrews University, enjoyed a privileged bond with the late Monarch and her husband. 

She shared in her grandfather’s passion for carriage riding and love of horses. 

The discreet royal, 19, who took a summer job in a garden centre last year, has been dubbed the royal family’s secret weapon. 

Over the last two years, Lady Louise has taken on an increasingly public role as her parents Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex have been bumped up the royal food chain following the disgrace of Prince Andrew and the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

She was front and centre in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, joined her parents at the Commonwealth Games and made her successful TV debut in a documentary about her beloved grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.

Indeed she has become such a well-known face that she is recognised by customers of the garden centre where she worked last summer. 

Unlike her older cousins, Princes William and Harry, Louise was able to see a lot more of her grandparents growing up because she has always lived just 11 miles from Windsor and had the benefit of being born around the time the Queen and Prince Philip scaled back their long-haul travel.

James, Earl of Wessex

James, the late Queen’s youngest grandchild, also did not appear in the picture from 2018. 

In today’s snap, he could be seen standing next to her in a navy linen shirt.

The royal likes to keep a low-profile and only attends some official events with his parents. 

The high-school student was thought to be one of the Queen’s ‘favourite’ grandchildren before she died. 

James is also thought to be a much-loved addition to the party when attending the royal family’s annual summer holiday in Balmoral, where he joins in enthusiastically with outdoor activities.

But while he’s clearly an important member of the Queen’s family in private, he’s rarely seen on any official engagements with his parents, and wasn’t styled as a prince at birth in order ‘to avoid some of the burdens of royal titles’.

When his father became Duke of Edinburgh in March, ahead of King Charles’ coronation, James inherited his Earl of Wessex title.  

Savannah Phillips 

Savannah, 12, is the eldest of the late Monarch’s great-grandchildren, and as such, she looked particularly poised in the picture shared today. 

She could be seen sat next to the late Queen in a dotted red dress, her wavy blonde locks styled with a headband. 

She had been singled out in the 2018 picture already as she was the only royal great-grandchild standing behind Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, her arms gently resting on the back of the sofa. 

The daughters of Peter Phillips and his former wife Autumn Kelly are enjoying their childhood away from the limelight. 

But they join the royal family on a number of official occasions, and are often a delight to watch. 

Savannah and her sister Isla provided some much-needed light relief in March 2022 as the siblings larked about in the pews while waiting for the Westminster Abbey service of the late Prince Philip. 

The pair were seen giggling with their father in a sweet moment caught on camera. 

Isla Phillips 

At 11, Isla Phillips is growing into her own, and could be seen beaming in today’s picture, a navy floral dress, her smiling face framed by her shaggy platinum blonde bob.

The royals’ sweet nature was already apparent in the picture with both her great-grandparents from 2018, when she was nine and had been sat next to Prince Philip while holding her young cousin Lena. 

The Phillips girls are close to their cousins, and can sometimes be spotted enjoying some family time with them. 

In March 2022, they watched their aunt Zara compete at Cheltenham Horse Trails with their cousins Mia, Lena and baby Lucas, on Mother’s Day. 

Mia Tindall

Mia, nine, looked poised in the picture shared today, where she held her brother Lucas, who was born in March 2021.

Her blonde locks were held back with a headband, and she appeared calm and collected, sitting quietly next to her great-grandmother, her hands carefully holding her baby brother. 

It was a far cry from her pose in 2018, where she gave the camera a shy smile, standing next to the sofa on the side of her great-grandfather. 

Mia, like her younger brother Lena, has taken up rugby, following into the footsteps of her father Mike, 44, who is a former rugby union international who also played outside centre for Bath and Gloucester, having also won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011.

Appearing on the show, Mike explained that both his girls are playing rugby, saying they are in a weekly league. 

He said: ‘Lena’s just joined because she’s just four, she’s doing under sixes.

‘It’s always hard through winter when it’s cold to get them out the door. They love it when they get there but every rugby parent will know that battle.

‘I’ve found with the girls, that battle to still go and get muddy is still a battle. Once they are there, they’re okay.’

Mike previously revealed how his eldest daughter Mia had started to play rugby last year. 

Speaking on an episode of his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby last year, he said: ‘It’s always hard to get Mia to go, she’s like ‘I don’t like it’ and then you get there, and she’s off.’

Speaking on the podcast, Mike explained: ‘Mia scored a couple… it was an eight-all thriller in the first game and then a nine-all thriller in the second.’

Speaking about his daughter’s involvement in tag rugby, Mike later added: It’s funny how much she’s changed over the last, sort of, this year, since they’ve been back.

‘[She’s] figuring out how to avoid people because before they’d just all be really bunched in. 

Prince George

Standing behind his great-grandmother’s sofa, Prince George was the picture of confidence in the 2022 snap. 

Dressed in a smart checked shirt, the royal gave the camera a wide grin, standing out as the oldest of the three boys in the snap. 

It was a testament to how much the royal has grown since the 2018 picture, where he was only five and sported a shy pose, his feet closing in on each other as he stood next to the sofa, hands resting on each side of his body. 

George, who turns ten this year, has been growing into his own, learning the ropes of being second-in-line for the throne. 

Body language expert Judi James noted how he showcased a new ‘grown-up dynamic’, as he strolled ahead to lead his family during the royal Easter Sunday service in Windsor earlier this month. 

 Fans also couldn’t help but notice how grown up the young royal looked at the time, pointing out his height, with one person writing on Twitter: ‘Prince George is getting very tall now and his confidence is showing through.’

Judi told Femail: ‘At this Easter service there was a status step-up from George, who walked ahead to lead his family into the service, showing a newly grown-up dynamic from the five Wales’s when it comes to royal outings.

‘George used to be the one holding his father’s hand and looking rather timid, but here it was Charlotte walking in alongside William while Kate held Louis’s hand beside them.

Princess Charlotte 

George’s sister Princess Charlotte, who turns eight on May 2, took centre stage in today’s picture, standing behind the Queen in a floral top, her blonde locks cascading down her shoulders as she looked directly at her mother, who took the picture. 

In the four years between the two pictures being taken, she has grown from a mischievous toddler sporting a playful grin to a responsible royal keeping her two brothers in line. 

Kate Middleton’s daughter is learning to navigate life as a young royal, ands has been spotted telling George and Louis what to do during several events.

During the Platinum jubilee concert on June 5 last summer, royal fans noted how ‘well-behaved’ Charlotte and George were, considering that the event had started at 8pm and the family attended after visiting Cardiff Castle to watch preparations for another concert within the grounds. 

On the sad occasion of their great-grandmother’s funeral on September 19, it was Princess Charlotte who was spotted advising her older brother on royal protocol. 

The youngster was spotted telling her sibling that he ‘has to bow’, as the Queen’s coffin went past while en route to Windsor, following Her Majesty’s funeral at Westminster Abbey.

But Charlotte has not lost her more playful side, and put on a scene-stealing display of emotions as she joined her parents Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham August June. 

Lena Tindall 

Perched on the left arm of the mint sofa, Lena Tindall, four, wore a mischievous grin in the picture shared today, dressed in a floral grey and white dress. 

Lena was just a baby in the picture from 2018, where she was photographed in her second cousin’s Isla Phillips’ arms, next to their great-grandfather.

At just four, she earned a legion of royal fans after her appearance at her great-grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee last summer, as she wore an unimpressed expression during the late Monarch’s Jubilee pageant, where her cousin Louis stole the show. 

Following into her father’s footsteps, Lena recently took up playing rugby, as Mike Tindall revealed during an appearance on The One Show. 

Prince Louis

The scene-stealer of the royal family, Prince Louis, four, stood next to the sofa’s arm, giving the camera his best mischievous grin in today’s picture. 

He was only a couple of months old when the 2018 picture was taken, but has turned into the royal family’s enfant terrible following his much talked-about appearance at his late great-grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee last summer. 

The four-year-old showcased several amusing expressions as he sat next to his mother, the Princess of Wales, in the royal box during the fourth day of Platinum Jubilee celebrations at the time. 

At times, he was seen clenching his fists, sticking out his tongue, waving his arms in the air, putting his hands over his mother’s mouth and standing in his seat for a better view of the spectacle.

He later moved across to his other relatives and sat on his grandfather King Charles’ lap, who pointed out various interesting parts of the parade to try and keep the four-year-old entertained.

The four-year-old is as active as they come, and speaking during a visit to a therapy garden at a rehabilitation centre in Wales in March, Kate revealed Louis likes spending time outdoors. 

She said: ‘Louis comes home and says “I need to get my energy out”.’