Lilibet, the five-year-old daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has been at the center of a recent controversy surrounding her fifth birthday photos.

The $30 million toe in the water

The photos, which show Lilibet barefoot and unbrushed, have sparked criticism from some online royal watchers, who have accused the couple of neglecting their daughter and failing to dress her properly.

However, the criticism of these photos says more about our own anxieties than it does about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

As Vanessa Tait , a mother of three, wrote, 'I brought up my own three children largely braefoot in our garden in the Cotswolds. When they had wellies on, they quickly ruined their clothes in puddles; I learned not to bother dressing them in anything adorable.'

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The critcism of Lilibet's photos is reminiscent of the controversy surrounding the institutional buy-up of Sydney's real estate market in 2024, where investors were accused of pushing out local families and small businesses.

However, in this case, the criticism is not about the economic impact of the photos,but rather about the perceived neglect of Lilibet by her parents.

As the article points out, 'the best childhoods are not those that look perfect in pictures, but those that feel perfect to the child living them.'

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The criticism of Lilibet's photos is also a reflection of our own anxieties about childhood and the pressures placed upon modern children.

As the article notes, 'we worry that childhood is disappearing. we complain that today's young grow up too quickly. We fret about social media,image consciousness and impossible standards of perfection.'

However, the moment we see a child - even more so a famous one - blissfully unaware of all that, we criticise her for not looking polished enough.

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The article notes that the criticism of Lilibet's photos is not about the economic impact of the photos, but rather about the perceived neglect of Lilibet by her parents.

As the article points out, 'the best childhoods are not those that look perfect in pictures, but those that feel perfect to the child living them.'

The article concludes by arguing that we need to let children be children and allow them to have a carefree and messy childhood without judgment.

We need to prioritize happiness over formality and authenticity over tradition.

And that is exactly what we see in Lilibet's fifth birthday pictures.