15 Adorable Photos of Young Royals Turning One
Updated: Feb. 14, 2023
If you think they must have been beautiful babies (because look at them now), then you're absolutely right!
Princess Elizabeth of York: The future monarch
Long before anyone knew this chubby-cheeked cherub would one day not only be Queen but the longest-ruling monarch in British history, she was snapped at age one (June 1, 1927), looking quite amused in a teeny tiny “throne” for the Illustrated London News.
Prince Charles in his pram
Just short of his first birthday, on October 13, 1949, the future Prince of Wales gets pushed along in his pram by Helen Lightbody, who was the Prince’s nanny from 1948, when Prince Charles was one month old, until 1956, when she left after a disagreement with the Queen over…dessert, or as the Brits call it, pudding.
Prince Philip, as the Prince of Greece and Denmark
The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark on June 10, 1921. Things kind of went downhill from there, with his family being exiled from Greece before this photo of the one-year-old prince was even taken. Twelve years later, he would meet Princess Elizabeth of York and begin a lengthy correspondence that would culminate in their marriage in 1947. Here’s how Prince Philip and the Queen fell in love way back then.
Princess Beatrice with her mum, the Duchess of York
Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York is the first-born daughter of Prince Andrew of York and his former wife, Sarah, Duchess of York (whether they’re still “former” remains one of the biggest royal mysteries of the modern day). This photo of Mum holding Baby Bea in the classic “hip carry” style was snapped just around the little ginger princess’s first birthday.
Princess Margaret Rose
Born August 30, 1930, Princess Margaret Rose of York ultimately became the Countess of Snowden after her 1960 marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones, whom the Queen named Earl of Snowdon. Here is the future Countess at age one, standing with her big sister, Princess Elizabeth. The two were very close throughout the Countess’s life, according to Vanity Fair (she died in 2002 of a lung ailment).
The future Duke of Cambridge, Prince William of Wales
Born June 21, 1982, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis is snapped here just shy of his first birthday (June 21, 1982) as he’s carried off an airplane by his nanny, Barbara Barnes. He had been on tour with his parents, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, in Australia and New Zealand. Here are 17 secrets a royal nanny will never tell you.
The future Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry
On August 7, 1985, Diana, Princess of Wales, carries her almost-one-year-old second-born son, Prince Henry Charles Albert David aboard the Britannia. They’re about to set sail for a tour of the Western Isles of Scotland. Don’t miss these 15 other rarely seen photos of Prince Harry with his beloved mum.
Princess Eugenie
It’s September 11, 1991, and Princess Eugenie of York has just waved good-bye to her sister, Princess Beatrice, who has just gone off for her first day of school. Holding her hand here is her mum, Sarah, Duchess of York. A lot has changed in the decades since—learn the 14 things you didn’t know about Princess Eugenie.
Princess Anne, the future Princess Royal
Born August 15, 1950, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise is pictured here around age one with her mum, Elizabeth, who is at the time still a Princess of York.
Prince Andrew, the future Duke of York
Born February 19, 1960, Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward was granted the title of Duke of York by his mum, the Queen on July 23, 1986, on the occasion of his marriage to Sarah Ferguson, now his ex-wife, and the mother of his two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Here the little Prince is snapped looking out a window at Buckingham Palace around the time he turned one in 1961.
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
The youngest of Her Majesty’s four children, Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis was born on March 10, 1964. At the time this photo was taken of him with his dad, Prince Philip, he was third in line to the British throne. As a result of the births of Princes William and his three children, Prince Harry, and the two daughters of his brother Prince Andrew, he is now at number ten (it is expected he’ll be displaced yet again with the birth of Baby Sussex—the baby of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who will be right after Prince Harry; here’s how the royal succession will work).
Prince George
This photo of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was taken during a visit to the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition at the Natural History Museum of London in early July 2014, the month he turned one. This was photo was released by the royal family in honor of the little Prince’s first birthday.
Princess Charlotte
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge was born on May 2, 2015. This photo was one of a series of the little Princess released by the royal family in honor of her first birthday. It was taken by her mum, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in April 2016. Anyone else think she’s the spitting image of her great-grandmum, the Queen?
Zara Phillips
A granddaughter of the Queen and the younger child of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, Zara was born on May 15, 1981 as Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips (she’s now Zara Tindall, having married Mike Tindall in 2011). She’s just over a year old here, pictured with her nanny on their way to fetch her older brother, Peter Phillips, from school in the fall of 1982.
Stay tuned for Prince Louis’s first birthday photo opp…
Pictured at eight months on the Cambridge family Christmas card from 2018, Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge is just about to turn one (his birthday is on April 23). Can’t get enough royal babies? Make sure to check out even more royal baby photos from throughout history.
Originally Published: March 27, 2019
