Prince William and Kate share cute 'Instagram vs reality' snaps of their son

Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, have shared photos of their youngest son, Prince Louis, making a colourful rainbow hand-print picture to mark his birthday. The prince turned two on Thursday.

The photos show the birthday boy creating an artwork similar to those made by children across the Britain, who are putting them up in windows of their homes - rainbows have become a symbol of hope in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

The duo later shared an additional two photos of their son on social media playfully captioning them "Instagram vs Reality".

In the first snap — the Instagram-worthy one — Louis shows off his painted hands up to the camera. In the second "reality" shot, he's smeared the paint all over his face.

All the photos were taken this month by Kate at the family's home in eastern England where they are staying during the coronavirus lockdown, Kensington Palace said.

Louis, fifth in line to the throne, has a six-year-old brother, Prince George, and four-year-old sister, Princess Charlotte, and last month the family released a video of them joining a nationwide applause of thanks to the nation's healthcare workers.

Earlier this week, Kate disclosed they had been home-schooling the children, but had not let them have a break during the Easter holidays.

"Don't tell the children, we've actually kept it going through the holidays. I feel very mean," she told BBC TV.

Louis's birthday celebrations come just days after his great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, celebrated her 94th birthday. - Reuters

• Additional reporting by staff reporter