Prince William and Princess Kate share personal photos to mark Princess Anne's 74th birthday

The Prince and Princess of Wales have re-shared a heartwarming tribute to Princess Anne in honour of her 74th birthday on Thursday.

Alongside a touching trio of photographs, originally shared by King Charles and Queen Camilla, the royal couple wrote on their official social media account: "Wishing a very happy birthday to The Princess Royal!" 

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The montage of snapshots included a black-and-white throwback image of a young Prince Charles and Princess Anne enjoying a picnic in the grounds of Royal Lodge in 1954 and a joyous image of Anne beaming at a 2023 Buckingham Palace garden party.

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They also included a more recent picture of the monarch and his sister ahead of Charles' coronation in which His Majesty could been seen presenting the New Sovereign's Standard To The Royal Horse Guards And 1st Dragoons. 

The birthday celebration comes shortly after Princess Anne was among the royals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She was joined on the trip by her husband Sir Timothy Laurence before they flew to Scotland for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the start of their summer break in Balmoral.

Over the course of the Games, the royal was seen in the audience for the rugby sevens, swimming, equestrian, hockey and rowing events. She also handed out medals at the Men's 100m Breaststroke final, awarding the silver medal to Adam Peaty after he was pipped to the post by just 0.2 seconds.

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Anne was also on hand to give out Team GB's first gold medal to the winning equestrian team and gold medals to Team GB's Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgina Brayshaw following their victory in the Women's Quadruple Sculls.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne is still recovering from a head injury – something which she sustained in June when she was kicked by a horse. The royal is continuing with a phased return to her royal duties after spending five nights in hospital.

Last month, Prince Willian and Princess Kate reacted to the return of Princess Anne to royal duties with a rare social media message. "Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon! W & C x," the royal couple penned on Instagram and X.

On 12 July, she made her first public appearance since her accident, presenting awards at an equine competition at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. At the event, Anne told guests that she "can't remember a single thing" about the incident.