Prince Louis follows in William's footsteps with candid photograph of Kate Middleton - decades after the young Prince took remarkable photographs of Princess Diana

Prince Louis appears to be following in Prince William's footsteps after taking an adorable picture of his mother, the Princess of Wales, to mark World Cancer Day. The six-year-old got behind the camera to perfectly frame the image of Kate during a walk in the woods in Windsor over the winter - echoing his mother's known love for photography. Kate, 43, has long been known for her love of taking pictures - and is often the one to document important events in royal family life, such as birthdays and Father's Day.

But her husband Prince William has also had a go behind the camera over the years from taking Kate's Mother's Day photo last year to capturing the children during lockdown. In 1989, a young Prince William, then aged seven, captured remarkable and intimate photographs of his mother Princess Diana. When the photos were released in 2007, it showed the Princess as never seen before - in a candid state of joy at spending time with her boys William and Prince Harry.

And nearly 40 years on from the photos being taken, it appears Louis is following in William's footsteps with his own sweet picture of Kate. Royal fans were quick to draw comparisons between the two, as the pictures were taken when William and Louis were similar ages, writing: 'Like father, like son!'. Prince Louis has taken this photograph of his mother the Princess of Wales at Windsor. They said: 'This one is soooooooooo cute,' and 'Almost made me cry!'.

Some joked that that Louis was a 'much better' photographer than his father - and noted a much brighter future for royal family photos in the future. William's picture of Diana was taken in 1989 when Diana's close friend Carolyn Bartholomew and her son Jack visited Highgrove. William and Harry borrowed a camera belonging to Jack's nanny Bruce - and the photos lay hidden for almost 18 years in a box she owned.

The first photo was said to be taken by William and showed Diana in her classic style, beaming as she sat on the bed in a pink jumper and white shorts. A second photo was said to have been taken by a five-year-old Harry, showing Diana posing with her friend Carolyn while a beaming William peered out in between them. In a third, a young Harry held baby Jack, smiling proudly at his older brother behind the lens.

They finally came to light in 2007 when Miss Bruce passed away and left the photographs to her friend Isabella Paton's son, Norrie. Prince Louis is clearly following in his father's footsteps - as a seven-year-old William took his own candid photo of his mother Princess Diana in 1989 (pictured). The candid photographs show the close bond between Prince William and Harry and Diana. Pictured in August 1987.

Louis and Kate clearly have a similar bond - nearly 40 years after William took the remarkable pictures. Prince Louis and Kate are pictured in May 2023. The Waleses have a shared love of photography - though it is usually the Princess of Wales taking the photos. They are pictured on Christmas Day in Sandringham. Norrie, an electrician from Dundee, then decided to share them with the world. He said: 'Diana has been pictured so many times, but these are special.

'Mary was a family friend for many years and I first saw the pictures when I was visiting my mother's house in 1989. Mary was there, and showed them to us. 'I said they would be a great memento and I would love to have them. She laughed and said, 'You can have them when I'm gone - when I won't need them any more.'. 'And true to her word, a few months before she passed away she gave my mother the pictures to give to me. Mary didn't have any family so I suppose her gifts had to be shared out to those in her immediate circle of friends.'.

Ms Paton added that Mary had told her the young Princes had taken the photographs after borrowing her camera. Kensington Palace yesterday issued the adorable new picture taken by Louis at Windsor to mark World Cancer Day. A second image taken by the princess herself was also issued. A close-up of the photo taken by Louis, which has been released ahead of World Cancer Day. It was accompanied by a personal message from Kate, reading: 'Don't forget to nurture all that which lies beyond the disease. C #WorldCancerDay'.

The princess has repeatedly emphasised that spending time in nature during her own cancer journey has been extremely important for her physical and mental health, which is reflected in both images. She is currently in remission from the disease. The image taken by Louis shows Kate smiling joyfully, her arms outstretched during a walk in the woods over the winter. She is wearing a peaked hat, scarf, overcoat and mittens with grey jeans tucked into knee-length boots.

Frost covers the ferns and sunlight peaks through the bare trees. The second image, taken by Kate, is a close up of the ferns with her own personal message. In July the Princess issued a statement in which she talked about 'healing power' of nature, emphasising the strength she has taken from the outdoors world. Prince Louis is growing into his public appearances. At Christmas (above, after the church service at Sandringham), he was given chocolate by devoted royal fans.