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.”

One Third of U.S. Workers Haven't Taken a Vacation in More Than 2 Years (Video)

Thirty-six percent of Americans took their last vacation over two years ago, and 51 percent have not vacationed in more than a year, according to the 11th annual Vacation Confidence Index by Allianz Global Assistance.

Many previous studies, from a variety of sources, have shown that Americans, especially younger generations, have a hard time getting out of the office and spending some quality time off. Even though we know vacation is good for our mental and physical health, and some of us even get paid vacation time from our employers, the latest numbers on how many U.S. workers are not taking time off is still, well, depressing.

However, Allianz Global Assistance defines a “vacation” as any trip that is at least a week in a destination that is 100 miles or more from home, so there’s no accounting for trips like “micro-cations,” which are increasingly growing in popularity amongst Millennials and Gen X workers. That said, a previous study identified the ideal vacation length as eight days, and for many people that's not happening.

It doesn’t look like 2019 will be a good year for vacation either. According to Allianz Global Assistance, only 42 percent of respondents said they felt confident they would be able to take a vacation this year — the lowest since 2013.

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You can probably blame all the usual suspects for this vacation deficit as well. Forty-four percent said money was the main reason why they couldn’t take time off, and 19 percent said they wouldn’t want to spend on vacation anyway. Another 12 percent of workers said they didn’t want to take the time off of work. Other reasons include other personal obligations that get in the way of taking time off and the stress of planning a vacation.

But it’s not just employees who are overworking themselves, it’s also the employers. The survey also revealed that 52 percent of U.S. workers say they take about the same amount of vacation time as their bosses do. So, bosses, if you want your employees to use their PTO, you’re going to have to leave the office, too, sometimes. The survey showed Americans are only using 41 percent of their paid time off, while their bosses are using 51 percent.

The survey concludes that American vacations are changing – so much so that week-long vacations could go out of style. Allianz Global Assistance noted that short trips may become even more popular in the future, especially when it comes to making getting away — even for a day or two — more accessible for younger workers.