Princess Kate delights fans with sentimental baby photo as she launches a new project close to her heart - and has everyone saying the same thing

The Princess of Wales shared a touching, personal picture showing herself as a baby in the arms of her father. In the photograph, which Kate credits as being taken by her mother Carole Middleton, a baby Kate can be seen smiling happily while playing with the face of her father Michael. The photo was shared by Catherine as she launches a new initiative focusing on the importance of early years play.

• Kate Middleton has shared a heartwarming photo of herself playing with her father’s face as a young baby.
• The photo, taken by her mother Carole, has been shared as Kate champions the importance of early years play to a child’s development.
• In other royal news, the history of the Prince of Wales coronet, a rare crown William will wear at Charles' coronation.

“Faces are a baby’s best toy.”

This is the caption that introduces Kate Middleton’s newest photo, shared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram.

The adorable photo shows a young baby Catherine playing with her father’s face.

While fans are already absolutely loving the never-before-seen photo of a baby Catherine, the fact it’s for a deeply important cause has many celebrating the hard-working princess.

Kate wrote in the caption, “On Tuesday, we launched #ShapingUs to raise awareness of the vital role our early years play in shaping the rest of our lives.”

“This weekend, we’d love for you all to spend time with your friends, families, colleagues and communities talking about your early childhoods and how they’ve shaped your lives.”

"I hope you’ll also consider joining me in sharing a picture of yourselves before your fifth birthday to help with those conversations and to share some smiles and memories too."

Proving the power the Princess has on social media trends, over 1000 posts have been shared with the hashtag #ShapingUs so far.

Kate’s lovely caption also includes a personal, informal touch, signing off the photo “With Dad, by Mum.”

While the photo and the project are both being widely praised by fans, there’s another thing everyone’s agreeing on – how much a baby Kate looks just like Prince Louis.

Comments from fans include, “Genuinely thought this was Louis until I read the last bit. Twins!”, “I see Louis!”, “Louis is your TWIN” and “Louis is the absolute double of you! Marvelous picture. Thank you for all the work you do.”

Kate has been praised for shining a light on early years matters before.

In 2022, she launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, an initiative that promotes the investment in the first five years of a child's life to enhance their long-term wellbeing. 

Earlier this week, the Princess also visited schools to launch the Shaping Us project, where she met with children to discuss the importance of their well-being and development.