Kate Middleton's Viral Moment with Prince Louis Is Up for Photo of the Year — See Louis' Other Snaps in the Running
Prince Louis yelling on the Buckingham Palace balcony beside Queen Elizabeth is also a finalist — twice, in fact!
Prince Louis isn't done making a splash!
The youngest child of Kate Middleton and Prince William appears in multiple images nominated for the IMAGO Photograph of the Year, presented in partnership with the U.K. Picture Editors' Guild Awards. In fact, members of the British royal family are the subjects of nine of the 20 finalists.
Prince Louis, now 5, went viral for his adorable antics at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June 2022, the finale of the celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary of becoming monarch. From sitting on his grandfather King Charles' lap to dancing to the music, all eyes were on Louis — but the snapshot in the running for the photo of the year features Prince Louis putting a hand over his mom Princess Kate's mouth.
Several finalist images are from 2022's Trooping the Colour, which took place the same weekend. Prince Louis made his horse-drawn carriage debut with older siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the event, but the real fun started when they joined Queen Elizabeth on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Related: Kate Middleton Reveals Whether She's the 'Strict' Parent Compared to Prince William
Prince Louis memorably covered his ears and yelled as the Royal Air Force planes noisily passed overhead, bringing a smile to Queen Elizabeth's face — and two photos of the moment made the photo contest's finals, appropriately titled "Prince Louis screams" and "Prince Louis screams again."
Photographer Samir Hussein, who was behind one of the finalist images, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, "Really happy to have my photo of the Queen & Prince Louis nominated for Photo of the Year at the Picture Editor Awards. A real honour to be recognised amongst such stunning images."
Several other images in the running are also from Trooping the Colour 2022, including family shots on the Buckingham Palace balcony and a solo portrait of Queen Elizabeth smiling with a finger in the air.
The nominees also include photos of the transition from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles as monarch. One image by Jane Barlow shows the late Queen in one of her final pictures released to the public, when she appeared at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 6, 2022, to appoint Liz Truss as the U.K.'s new prime minister and bid outgoing Boris Johnson a formal farewell. (Truss has since been replaced by Rishi Sunak in the position.) The event, which took place two days before her death, would be the Queen's final royal duty.
Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Another picture is from Queen Elizabeth's September 2022 funeral at Westminster Abbey, while a portrait by Victoria Jones showing King Charles going through documents in a red box — a scene closely related to Queen Elizabeth during her reign — taken shortly after the start of his role as monarch is also in contention.
Aside from the members of the royal family, the nominated photos show a swimmer being saved underwater, a pair setting up a pool in the street during a heatwave and scenes from the war in Ukraine.
Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite photo before the end of the day on Sept. 5. The winning photograph will be announced on Oct. 16.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.