Kate Middleton Shares Adorable Photos of Prince George on His 6th Birthday

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On Monday, Kensington Palace released three new images of Prince George in celebration of the future king of England’s sixth birthday. Though the images are adorable their backstory may be the cutest detail of all.

“Happy Birthday Prince George,” the caption of the first image posted to Instagram read. “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share new photographs of Prince George to mark His Royal Highness's sixth birthday.”

In a cute twist, the palace confirmed the images were taken by none other than George’s own mother, Kate Middleton.

“This photograph was taken recently in the garden of their home at Kensington Palace by The Duchess of Cambridge,” it said. “Thank you everyone for all your lovely messages!”

In the second image, Prince George stood tall in a green shirt with blue striped shorts as he adorably smiled at the camera.

And in a third image, George smiled ear-to-ear appearing to laugh at his mom as she snapped the photos.

As Travel + Leisure previously reported, the family is allegedly celebrating George’s sixth birthday together on the private island of Mustique in the Carribean. It’s not only a place William and Kate have visited many times before, but it’s also a place they can truly find privacy thanks to the island’s private security team and its location far away from the prying eyes of the public.

“It’s about as close as they can come to without going to total wilderness as they did on their honeymoon when they went to an island in the middle of nowhere,” a royal source told The Sun about why the family enjoys their time on the island so much. “To go to a place with two bars and a few other people, and not feel totally isolated Mustique is perfect.”

10 'Vacations' You Can Take From Your Desk

Want to jet off to Australia, Hong Kong, New York or Tokyo? Of course you do. Unfortunately, daily life generally forces us to sit at a desk from 9 to 5. But a few companies are helping to ease the pain by allowing you to escape from the dreariness of your cubicle. Enter virtual reality.

Whether it’s a viewing devicestrapped on your face transporting you to Australia or a 360-degree on-location video online, taking a mini journey across the globe has never been easier. Companies, resorts, and museums have developed groundbreaking technology that allows you to have totally immersive experiences ranging from birds-eye views of locations to intense intricate closeups of paintings that you can’t see with the naked eye.

For adventurous folks, Hamilton Island in Australia partnered with Samsung Electronics and Rapid VR to provide three-dimensional, 360-degree interactive vision that gives viewers a feeling of immersion. You can swim with turtles in the Great Barrier Reef and take a helicopter tour over the island.

More low-key museum types will enjoy the Google Cultural Institute’s latest: 1,000-gigapixel images of famous paintings from museums around the world. The images of works by Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and more are so detailed that you can actually see the layers of paint.

Other companies, like Lufthansa, have created several 360-degree on-location videos. Google Maps takes you on a safari through South Africa. Check out these 10 virtual reality vacations you can take from your desk.

Jordi Lippe-McGraw is a Contributing Digital Reporter with Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

12 Photos That Make Us Miss the Golden Age of Flying

With so many complaints about airlines today from baggage fees to limited in-flight service, it seems nearly impossible to imagine a time where flying was luxurious. But in honor of Scandinavian Airlines’ 70th anniversary, the company has released select images showing off the Golden Age of plane travel.

Taken in the 1950s through 1980s, these photos reveal the lengths they would go to provide a fine dining experience—a far cry from the microwave meals we have today. The pictures show smiling guests as they are greeted by flight attendants who are carting everything from caviar and lobster to a whole leg of carved ham.

The cabin crew is seen using real knives, clearly a sign that these flights were before the days of constant security threats. And there would even be a chef in formal garb, down to the toques, preparing a seafood platter for the passengers.

Other features of this nostalgic time included the use of porcelain teacups, and guests were offered a wide variety of drinks including beer, wine, and champagne to complement their trips. In addition, many of these photos were taken before there were different classes on the airplanes, so everyone got the royal treatment.

Menu items (yes they had menus) at that time featured things like consommé, roast chicken, crepes with mushrooms and bacon, and Bavarian cream with rum.

More images are set to be released closer to the anniversary, but take a look through these incredible images of the Golden Age of flying in the meantime.