Queen Elizabeth honours Prince Edward’s 56th birthday with sweet throwback pic​

Queen Elizabeth has shared a sweet photograph for Prince Edward’s 56th birthday.

The image is a throwback one with her youngest child in 1972 – taken when he was just eight years old.

The Earl of Wessex is listening carefully as Her Majesty speaks to him in the photograph and was snapped during the Trooping of the Colour ceremony.

The Queen paid tribute to her son on all of the royal family social media accounts, with the caption: “Happy birthday to the Earl of Wessex, who celebrates his 56th birthday today.

“The Earl of Wessex (then Prince Edward) with the Queen during the Trooping of the Colour in 1972.”

Another post snapped of the royal showed him cutting a birthday cake as his wife, Sophie watched on in delight.

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A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Mar 10, 2020 at 12:32am PDT

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Later in the day, the Duke and Countess of Wessex travelled to Essex where they meet with locals and schoolchildren as well as members of the community at the Mersea Island Community Centre.

Prince Edward has been a busy-working royal since 2017, when he took on more public engagements as his father Prince Philip retired.

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex visited Essex today, where they met schoolchildren and members of the community at the Mersea Island Community Centre. Thank you to the children from Mersea Island Primary School for coming out to say hello! 👋 . At Wilkin and Sons, @tiptreephotos, The Earl and Countess learned about farm to factory production. 🚜🍊Wilkins have farmed in Tiptree for almost 300 years: the estate produces unusual fruits such as medlars, mulberries and quince – as well as strawberries, raspberries, cherries and plums. These fruits are then made into preserves and jams in the factory.

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Mar 10, 2020 at 12:27pm PDT

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The Duke has succeeded Prince Philip as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and has been vice-patron since 2006. He has also taken over his father's role in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.