Kate Middleton, Prince William share Princess Charlotte portrait in celebration of her 9th birthday

Princess Charlotte is 9 years old.

On Thursday, Kate Middleton and Prince William took to social media to give their only daughter some special recognition on her birthday. 

"Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte!" the Instagram caption read, alongside a portrait of Charlotte taken by Middleton. "Thank you for all of the kind messages today."

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While it is unknown when and where the photo was taken, the portrait seems to give a subtle nod to the late Queen Elizabeth. 

Princess Charlotte was photographed next to pale pink flowers that have been named in Queen Elizabeth's honor, the Clematis Elizabeth blooms. 

A representative for Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Fans shared their birthday well wishes in the comments. 

"Sweetest girl. In actual fact she is literally an angel," one user wrote. "Happy birthday Princess Charlotte, May your day be filled with blessings and love."

"What a beautiful picture taken by our talented Princess of Wales! Princess Charlotte is all grown up!" another wrote. "And look at her big smile for her mum. I want to wish her a very happy 9th birthday!! I hope she will have a super fun day and a wonderful new year! We love you, Princess Charlotte."

"Happy birthday, Princess Charlotte! You're blossoming into a beautiful young girl, inheriting the best features from both your father and mother," another fan commented. "Keep excelling in school; you have the potential to become an incredible leader and inspire countless young girls worldwide. Sending lots of hugs your way."

The birthday photo comes nearly two months after the Princess of Wales was caught in the middle of a photo editing scandal after posting a photo of herself and her three children – George, Charlotte and Louis – on Mother's Day in the United Kingdom.

Middleton admitted to editing the image after people noticed discrepancies, including Middleton not wearing her engagement and wedding rings.

The Princess of Wales - who has remained out of the spotlight throughout 2024 - revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer. 

"I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery," Middleton said in the video recorded and released last month."It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful."

She explained that after her abdominal surgery in December, it was believed her condition was "non-cancerous." However, further testing showed "cancer had been present." She was advised to begin chemotherapy by her medical team.

"This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," Middleton said. "As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK."

"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits," Kate added. "Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both."