Inside Kate Middleton's sweet annual midnight tradition for Prince Louis' birthday - as royal fans are disappointed by no new photo to mark him turning 6

Prince Louis turns six today, and while he will mark his big day away from the limelight his mother Kate previously gave an insight into a sweet royal birthday tradition. 

Kate, 42, revealed that she's known for staying up late the night before her children's birthdays to whip up a homemade cake for their special day. 

Back in 2019 on the one-off special A Berry Royal Christmas, she told Mary Berry: 'I love making the cake.

'It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up until midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much but I love it'.

This comes after royal fans eager to mark Prince Louis' sixth year of life with a celebratory photo were left disappointed when the Prince and Princess of Wales' social media accounts stayed silent in the early hours of his birthday.

Royal fans had been hoping the couple would keep up their tradition of releasing new photographs to celebrate his birth.

The Waleses were intending to release a photograph for Louis' birthday despite the frenzy over the manipulated family picture issued by Kensington Palace on Mother's Day, sources close to the family said last month.

But the couple have not yet posted a new photograph online or shared the image with the media, despite having traditionally provided it to the press under an embargo the day before.

The past few months have been an eventful period for the Waleses and their family, due to Kate's cancer diagnosis, which came after King Charles revealed his diagnosis to the world earlier this year.

William and Kate took time to sensitively share the future Queen's positive cancer test with their children, giving the youngsters time to process the information, before the couple revealed it to the public.

The Waleses have released a new photo of Louis each year to mark his birthday.

Last year, they shared an adorable photo of Kate pushing him around in a wheelbarrow in Windsor to mark his turning five.

For his previous birthdays the couple shared pictures of Louis that Kate, a self-described amateur photographer, took herself.

The photo marking his fourth year of life was taken at a beach in Norfolk and the image shared on his third birthday showcased the young royal riding his bike at Kensington Palace, shortly before he left for his first day of nursery at the Willcocks Nursery School.

For his first and second birthdays, the couple released photos that were taken at their home.

An aide last month, amid speculation over whether or not the couple would mark Louis' birthday with a picture, said the Waleses 'appreciate the public's love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays'. 

However, it was noted that 'no firm' decision had been made.