Kate shares touching new photo of William with George, Charlotte and Louis to mark Father’s Day

A sweet message from Prince William’s three children was shared on their social media (Kensington Palace )

Prince William’s three children have shared a sweet Father’s Day post on the family’s official social media page, writing “We love you, Papa” and featuring a new family photo by the Princess of Wales.

Kensington Palace said Kate’s picture of William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was taken on the Norfolk coast last month.

It is the first time a message from the three children has been posted on the family’s social media accounts.

The Prince of Wales also shared his own message to King Charles, releasing a photograph of him as a toddler playing football with his father in 1984.

“Happy Father’s Day, Pa,” the post, personally signed by William, said.

In March the Princess of Wales apologised after a Mother’s Day photo, of her with her children, went viral as people noticed that it had been doctored. The image sparked speculation on social media about the Princess’s health and was withdrawn by picture agencies.

The Princess apologised “for any confusion” and said she occasionally experiments with editing.

The Father’s Day messages come a day after the Royal Family were out for the Trooping the Colour procession, the first public engagement for Kate since beginning preventative treatment for cancer.

With the King also receiving cancer treatment, it was a rare public outing for the entire family.

Kate said in a statement on Friday she was making “good progress” with her treatment but candidly added she has “good days and bad days” and, although she has been working from home, she said: “I am not out of the woods yet.”

The princess said she had been “blown away” by kind messages from the public that had made a “world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times”.

In a change from last year, Kate did not join senior family members on a dais for Trooping the Colour but watched the event from the Duke of Wellington’s former office with her children.

Once again, the couple’s youngest son Louis stole the show with his animated expression and antics, which included dancing to a military song, yawning and pulling at a curtain cord.

During the aerial show, William was pictured affectionately pulling Louis’ ears, as Kate watched and grinned. When the national anthem was played, big sister Charlotte gave her younger sibling a nudge to stand still.

The Father’s Day message from William’s children comes in what has been a difficult year for the family, with the prince taking time off work to support his wife during her illness.

Kate was initially admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery on 16 January and at the time her condition was thought to be non-cancerous, but cancer was found following the successful operation.

Charles was admitted to hospital just days after Kate, also for a procedure deemed unrelated to cancer.

In February, Buckingham Palace confirmed that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer, which is not prostate cancer, that was discovered while the King was being treated at the private London Clinic for an enlarged prostate.

Kate’s appearance was to mark the family occasion and she is not expected to return to full-time royal duties until she has fully recovered.