The photo was taken by Middleton, known formally as Princess Catherine. The image shows Charlotte smiling for the camera as she poses outside next to a flowering hedge. "Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all of the kind messages today," the caption reads.

In the lovely image, Charlotte is seen leaning up against a flower bush in a garden, at one the Wales’s Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park, and smiling candidly at the camera. She wears a navy sweater top layered over a frilly white and blue shirt, paired with a blue denim skirt and navy tights. She stays warm in a raspberry red knit cardigan.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, is growing up right in front of my eyes. Today, the young royal turned nine years old. In honor of the special occasion, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared a brand-new portrait of Princess Charlotte on social media.