Prince Charles shares sweet childhood photo of himself alongside the Queen Mother in touching tribute

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles have released a rare photo of the Queen Mother with her grandchildren in celebration of the late monarch's birthday. 

• Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla have released a rare photo from the future King's childhood on their Clarence House Instagram account. 
• The vintage snap shows a young Prince Charles with his late grandmother, the Queen Mother, in the garden of Clarence House in 1960. 
• In other royal news, Meghan Markle treats fans to first look at Lilibet Diana in surprise birthday video.
  

With so much frenzy surrounding Meghan Markle's 40th birthday on Wednesday, it can easy to forget that the date marked a special occasion for another Royal Family member—Queen Elizabeth II's late mother. 

The Queen Mother, who died aged 101 in 2002, was coincidentally born exactly 81 years before the Duchess of Sussex. As the grandmother of Prince Charles, the former matriarch of the British Royal Family had always been an important person in the future King's life. He has spoken candidly about his fondness for his grandmother multiple times, even referring to her as "one of the most remarkable and wonderful people in the world" at one point. 

While the Queen celebrated Meghan Markle's birthday with a royal nod, the Prince of Wales took the opportunity to pay tribute to his beloved nana with a sweet childhood photo. 

In the throwback picture, which was taken on the Queen Mother's 60th birthday in the garden of Clarence House in 1960, the royal consort smiles widely while cradling a six-month-old Prince Andrew. A 12-year-old Prince Charles stands next to her and grins at the camera, while a 10-year-old Princess Anne affectionately rubs her baby brother's back. 

The sweet family portrait is made all the more adorable by the addition of their royal dog, who can be seen sitting obediently on their hindlegs in the bottom left-hand side of the shot. 

Camilla and Charles also shared an image of an ornately framed photo of the Queen Mother in her later years, as well as the silver vase with rosemary gifted to her for her 100th birthday. The Queen passed away the following year, just seven weeks after the death of her daughter, Princess Margaret.