Why Prince William, Kate Middleton Keep Prince Louis Out of The Spotlight

He has officially turned one and been featured in a series of adorable new portraits released in honor of the occasion. However, following this celebration, it could be a while before royal family friends get a chance to see Prince Louis again.

The youngest son of Kate Middleton and Prince William has notably not been seen publicly very often since his birth on April 23, 2017—and according to E! News, there is a good reason for it. The website reports that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have intentionally kept him out of the limelight as much as they possibly can because they want him to have as normal a life as possible as he gets older.

The website reports that there is an implicit understanding that Middleton struck with the media back when she first started welcoming her royal offspring—where the youngest royals will pose in photos for big family events and would release portraits for the holidays and birthdays, but in exchange for those photos, mainstream press outlets don’t publish unauthorized images of the family. This was something that was done because the royal couple, who will one day be King of Queen Consort of England, want their children to have as much of a normal life as they can—something that has always been important to them.

“William and Kate very much prioritize bringing up their children in as normal an environment as possible over anything else,” a source told US Weekly in September 2018. “They haven’t lost sight of that.”

However, the parents are also expressing a specific strategy when it comes to Louis that they haven’t necessarily followed entirely the same way when it comes to their older two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Though their appearances in public are also limited, they were seen somewhat more often during their earlier months than their younger brother, and this could be because Louis, as the second “spare heir,” is highly unlikely to ever ascend to the throne, and has the best chance of remaining mainly under the radar of his siblings.

The E! Report compares him to Prince Charles’ sister, Princess Anne, who does operate as a full-time royal, but rarely ever lands in the headlines with her personal life. The same did not apply to her older brother, who as the heir to the throne, has been more regularly featured in the media.

However, just because Louis may be out of the spotlight more now doesn’t mean the couple is planning to keep their eldest thoroughly under a microscope now. It has previously been reported that the parents haven’t informed George of the big role he will one day play—as the King of England.

“With George they are trying to delay that moment of realization and give him normality before they thrust this on him,” royal biographer Catherine Mayer previously told E! “But it will be, nevertheless, part of his upbringing both in terms of what he sees his parents and grandparents doing and probably quite soon a beginning of an understanding that he is in public life and what that means.”