Laughter that shows Prince William will be having a VERY happy Father’s Day days before he turns 40

He will turn 40 within days, but this charming picture – released to coincide with Father’s Day – shows that Prince William already has all the gifts he could ever want.

Taken during a family holiday to Jordan, it shows William sitting between Prince George, eight, and Princess Charlotte, now seven, with his youngest, Prince Louis, now four, perched on his shoulders. He beams contentedly as his children roar with laughter.

William will celebrate his milestone birthday on Tuesday as he and wife Kate prepare to announce a move to Windsor – as first reported by The Mail on Sunday last August.

This image differs from recent official photographs in that it was not taken by the Duchess of Cambridge, a keen amateur photographer. Instead, Kensington Palace said that the delightful portrait was captured by a private, unnamed photographer during a getaway last autumn.

William (centre) is pictured beaming with George (right), Charlotte (left) and Prince Louis (on his shoulders) in Jordan

A similar image of the Cambridges, seemingly taken on the same day and showing Kate in a khaki green dress and William in an olive shirt and beige shorts, was used for the family’s most recent Christmas card.

This portrait, however, offers a more informal, relaxed view of family life. While the exact location has not been revealed, the picturesque sandstone backdrop suggests it may have been taken in Petra, the ancient archaeological site in Jordan’s southwestern desert.

The Cambridges have a personal connection to Jordan, as Kate lived there for three years when her father, Michael, was posted to the capital Amman for his job with British Airways in May 1984 when she was two and her sister, Pippa, was eight months old.

Kate poses for a Christmas card snap with the children on what appears to be the same day during their holiday in Jordan

Speaking during an official visit to the country in 2018, William described Jordan as a ‘beacon of hope’, adding: ‘My wife is very sorry she cannot be here with me so soon after the birth of our son Louis, but her family remembers very fondly the almost three years she spent here as a child.’

Ahead of his birthday, friends have spoken of the importance of his family.

One told the Daily Mail: ‘He just loves being a dad and having a settled family around him. Having children always puts things into perspective… Whatever happens “at work”, he has to go home and be a “normal” person for the sake of his kids, which has made him more at peace with the reality of his other life.’

George, Charlotte and Louis each played a central role in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this month, with Louis stealing the show with his animated reactions on the Buckingham Palace balcony to an RAF flypast, and in the stands at the Party at the Palace concert.