Prince William is honoring his dad King Charles on Father's Day by sharing a throwback photo of the pair enjoying some one-on-one, father-son time.
On Sunday, June 16, the Prince of Wales posted an old photo of the pair kicking around a small ball on a lawn, King Charles smiling while wearing a suit and tie and as he attempts to kick a multi-colored, soccer-like ball. A very young Prince William appears to be toddling around the yard, wearing a white and blue striped t-shirt and a pair of overall jeans, white socks and black buckled shoes.
"Happy Father’s Day, Pa," the Prince captioned the post, which was shared by Kensington Palace via it's social media accounts.
The Prince of Wales signed off on the post with a simple "W," proving that sometimes even the most meaningful of sentiments on a day meant to memorialize fathers can be, well, short.
The Father's Day post comes just one day after the royal family made a very public appearance at this year's Trooping the Colour, in honor of the monarch's second official birthday.
The ceremony was especially poignant this year, as it marked the first Trooping the Colour since the King was diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer, as well as the first official public appearance by Kate Middleton since she was also diagnosed with cancer.
In response the Princess of Wales announcing her surprise Trooping the Colour appearance and giving an update on her cancer treatment, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace told People that her husband was “pleased to see The Princess starting to engage with the work and projects that are important to her.“
"He will continue to focus his time on supporting his wife and children while continuing to undertake his public duties," the spokesperson added at the time.
According to royal historian Gareth Russell, who previously spoke to Us Weekly, Prince William "wasn’t emotionally prepared" for both his wife and his father to be diagnosed with cancer at the same time.
"Yes, (the King) is elderly, but his father was famously quite healthy and lives well, eats well, and, according to his wife, Queen Camilla, just never stops walking,” Russell told the publication, referencing the apparent shock William felt at the time.
Russell went on to say that "so far," the Prince of Wales has shown himself to be "more than competent and capable” of stepping into his father's gigantic footsteps as he continues cancer treatments.
“William feels a profound sense of duty to uphold the monarchy’s stability and inspire confidence in the public that everything will be okay," a source told Us Weekly in April. "It’s an immense responsibility.”
