This is the youngest photo of Prince we've seen yet — and it's adorable

Even in elementary school, Prince had some swag.

July 28, 2016 at 2:47PM
Prince, at 10 years old, at the bottom of a yearbook photo from John Jay Elementary School in Minneapolis.
Prince, at 10 years old, at the bottom of a yearbook photo from John Hay Elementary School in Minneapolis. (CJ Sinner — Courtesy/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Even at the chubby-cheeked age of 10, Prince already had that trademark smirk. That's him at the lower left, in a fifth-grade yearbook photo from the 1968-69 school year at John Hay Elementary School in Minneapolis - a school that no longer even exists.

It's the earliest photo of Prince we've seen, and the story behind it is pretty fun.

We got it from Elizabeth Fuller, who went to the school with Prince, and her poignant recollections can be found at the Larchmont Buzz. All the pages of this yearbook are on her Flickr page.

Prince is obviously wrapped up in his own world, gazing off into the distance, paying little attention to the photographer and the classmates around him, in danger of dropping out of the picture entirely.

It's a pattern that would be repeated all his life. There have been few individuals more determined to go their own way than the Purple One.

A few years later, of course, Prince would sport a rather impressive Afro in this photo of the Bryant Junior High School basketball team.

Prince is pictured in the bottom left of this 5th-grade yearbook photo from John Hay Elementary School in Minneapolis.
Prince is pictured in the bottom left of this 5th-grade yearbook photo from John Hay Elementary School in Minneapolis. (CJ Sinner — Courtesy/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

John Reinan

Reporter

John Reinan is a news reporter covering Greater Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. For the Star Tribune, he's also covered the western Twin Cities suburbs, as well as marketing, advertising and consumer news. He's been a reporter for more than 20 years and also did a stint at a marketing agency.

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