Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, took to her Instagram page on Thursday to celebrate her second son’s birthday.
She shared a photo she snapped on the grounds of Kensington Palace on Wednesday as Louis prepared to leave home for his first day at nursery school.
The delightful photo shows the young royal flashing a toothy grin while sitting on his bike as he prepares for his first day at Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington, according to the Daily Mail.
He is dressed for school in a pair of light blue shorts, a dark blue sweatshirt worn over a white-and-blue-striped shirt, a pair of blue sneakers, and a backpack.
Louis is the youngest of Kate and Prince William’s three children. His older siblings are 7-year-old Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who will turn six in May.
Princess Charlotte also attended Willcocks.
News that Prince Louis is starting nursery school comes after the funeral of the prince’s great-grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Members of the Royal Family attended the funeral at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, but Louis and his older siblings did not.
George and Charlotte homeschooled during the COVID-19 lockdown
George and Charlotte are currently attending the exclusive St. Thomas’s Battersea in London.
The school started conducting remote learning in March 2020 due to COVID-19.
William and Kate had to adjust to homeschooling their children while living in isolation with their youngest sibling, Louis, at their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall, during the COVID-19 lockdown that started earlier in 2020.
William talked about the challenges he faced homeschooling his children during a Zoom call with soccer stars on the BBC’s documentary show, Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health.
“Homeschooling is fun, isn’t it?” he said. “You start to worry about how little you remember from your school days when you can’t do the math questions at home.”
Kate also said she worked hard at home to get her children to adjust to their remote learning schedules. She revealed her children were also enjoying a lot of outdoor activities.
George, Charlotte, and Louis learned to ride ponies
One of the outdoor activities the children enjoyed during the coronavirus lockdown was horse riding.
The three children reportedly spent part of the COVID-19 lockdown at their Anmer Hall country home in Norfolk, learning how to ride ponies.
They took riding lessons ahead of summer when they hope to go riding with their great-grandmother, the Queen, at her Windsor and Balmoral summer residences.
Horse-riding is part of the Royal Family’s tradition.
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, won the Eventing World Championship in Aachen, Germany, in 2006. She also won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Zara’s mother, Anne, won a gold medal at the European Eventing Championships in 1971 and silver medals in 1975.
The Queen started riding when she was only four years old. Queen Elizabeth is known to be an enthusiastic horse rider. She received her first pony, a Shetland named Peggy, for her fourth birthday.
The children’s father, William, also received his first Shetland pony, named Smokey, when he was four years old. William’s parents, Prince Charles and Diana taught him and his brother Harry to ride.
The Queen was reportedly keen to see her great-grandchildren follow in her footsteps by also taking up riding at a very young age.