The subtle nod to Prince Philip in Prince George’s eighth birthday portrait

The Land Rover was his late grandfather’s favourite car

Prince George’s eighth birthday portrait (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge)

Prince George’s eighth birthday portrait has paid tribute to his late grandfather, with the young royal pictured sitting on a Land Rover.

In a post to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Instagram on Wednesday, 22 July, George beams at the camera while perched on the hood of a dark-green Land Rover Defender, the car that became synonymous with Duke of Edinburgh throughout his lifetime.

“Turning eight (!) tomorrow,” the Duchess of Cambridge wrote in the caption, crediting herself as the photographer.

Prince Philip’s love for the British-made vehicle was a key element of his funeral in April when a modified Land Rover Defender which he had helped design was used as a hearse. He died on 9 April at Windsor Castle.

The late prince had begun creating his own hearse in collaboration with Land Rover in 2003 and had requested that the car’s signature Belize Green bodywork be changed to a dark bronze-green, the colour used for military Land Rovers.

Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace said the hearse, which was built in Solihull, had been modified over the years to add an open-top rear section to hold his coffin.

The portrait, which marks George’s first birthday after his grandfather’s death, shows him dressed in navy blue shorts and a matching blue and orange striped t-shirt. The photograph was reportedly taken at Anmer Hall, the Norfolk countryside home where the family often spends school holidays.

The Duchess of Cambridge, who is a keen photographer, released her own photography book, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020, earlier this year.

The book, which was published in May, features 100 photographs of people from across the nation and aims to capture a “collective portrait of the UK during lockdown”.

The photographs were selected following a contest that received more than 31,000 entries. Speaking to a finalist in May, the Duchess revealed that her children, George, Charlotte and Louis, are not always keen to be photographed.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Mummy, please stop taking photographs’,” she told finalist Ceri Edwards.

Prince George made two public appearances in the last month when he joined his mother and father to watch England compete in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament against Germany and Italy.