Duchess Kate releases a portrait of Prince George & Princess Charlotte

charlie4

Well, this is pretty adorable. And surprisingly not back-lit! Remember when Duchess Kate gave birth to Prince George and she and the baby stayed at the Middletons for the summer of 2013, and Kate’s dad took those “family portraits”? They were charmingly low-key, if obviously amateur. And now that Princess Charlotte has celebrated her one month out in the world, William and Kate have decided to share some new low-key portraits, this time of just Charlotte and George. Kate took the photos and George looks like he’s doing a good job at tamping down his instinct to punch his sister. It’s very sweet. Here are more pics:

The @KensingtonRoyal Twitter writes, “The photo of Prince George and Princess Charlotte was taken by The Duchess of Cambridge in mid-May.” Meaning Charlotte was only a few weeks old when the photos were taken. What else can we really tell? Charlotte seems to have William’s eyes, which are Diana’s cornflower blue eyes. Unlike George, who has brown eyes (mysteriously, because both Will and Kate have light eyes). Charlotte’s features look more “Middleton” to me than Windsor though, but maybe that will change as she gets older.

Late last week, William and Kate also announced the date and location of Charlotte’s christening. Charlotte will be christened on July 5th (a Sunday) at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham by the Archbishop of Canterbury. That church was also Princess Diana’s christening location.

Kate was also sighted about a week ago at a park close to Anmer Hall, playing with George. According to People Magazine’s eyewitness who may or may not be Will and Kate’s press secretary, Kate looked like “every other mum” (JUST LIKE US!) and she was playing “monster” with George.

charlie2

charlie3

charlie1

Photos courtesy of WENN, Kensington Royal.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

163 Responses to “Duchess Kate releases a portrait of Prince George & Princess Charlotte”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. plz says:

    adorable pictures

    ps kate has hazel eyes not light eyes

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      Pictures of Kate have usually been photoshopped to make both her skin and eye color a bit lighter. Her eyes definitely have some brown in them.

      • MoxyLady007 says:

        This is going to turn into that damn dress all over again. His eyes are white and gold dammit!

    • Pace U. says:

      I never got why some seem so bothered that George has Brown eyes? If this were any other child, people would not being trying to invent blue coloured eyes for George. The boy got brown eyes, . It’s not a big deal. IMO He’s a beautiful boy.

      P.S. it sounds like Rpyal Reporter may be taking the gloves off concerning William and Kate news reporting.

      TWEET: RoyalReporter …@Ikon/Tanna.. ” We need to work harder at coming up with proper news – what somebody somewhere wants to suppress.”

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      I think Prince George has Michael Middleton’s eyes, exactly.

    • serena says:

      Yes and George has really light brown eyes.

  2. LAK says:

    I think PGtips’s eyes are lighter than brown. He looks like he has dark hazel eyes with flakes of brown in them.

    • Whinehouse says:

      If I remember rightly from secondary school biology two blue eyes can make a brown eyed baby.

      • Lara says:

        It’s two brown eyed people can have a blue eyed baby but not the other way round… So basically if you’re brown eyed you can have the recessive blue eye gene but if both have blue eyes you only have that gene. If you’re brown eyed you’re either BB or Bb. If you’re blue eyed you’re bb hence you can only have bb babies if there’s 2 of you! Garbled science lesson over…

      • manda says:

        replying to Lara– I LOVE that you did that, I find myself doing the figures in my head myself sometimes! Very good explanation

      • bettyrose says:

        Never mind.

      • Paleokifaru says:

        That is oversimplified Mendelian genetics that are not applicable to human eye color. There is more than one human gene involved in eye color. It is possible for two lighter eyed people to have a darker eyed child.

      • Goats on the Roof says:

        @BettyRose

        That is actually incorrect. Genetics behind eye color are a bit more complicated than that. Two blue-eyed parents can and do have brown-eyed children. It’s fairly uncommon but does happen.

      • Lara says:

        My science does come from my GCSE’s so happy to be wrong on this and learn more!

      • Miss M says:

        Thank you , Marlene. The eye color is a trait given by more than one pair of genes. Put simply, it is a combination of these pair of genes that make the eye color. Scientists don’t know how to explain certain eye colors till this day.

      • Solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        Genetics behind colour is extremely more complex than we are thaught… There are several studies that state that blue eyed parents can have brown eyed kids…

        look up for myths of human genetics : eye colour , university of Delaware: Last sentence of the article: Eye color is not an example of a simple genetic trait, and blue eyes are not determined by a recessive allele at one gene. Instead, eye color is determined by variation at several different genes and the interactions between them, and this makes it possible for two blue-eyed parents to have brown-eyed children.

      • veronica says:

        Eye colour is really a crapshoot no matter what colour eyes the parent has. My eyes are dark brown and my husband’s are blue. Our daughter? I have no clue. Sometimes they look hazel, sometimes grey and sometimes both. It’s really quite fascinating to see what colour combinations can pop up. For Charlotte, at only a month, her eyes are bound to be dark blue since most Caucasian babies have dark blue/grey when they’re born. It probably won’t be until she’s close to a year when her true colour sets in that we’ll know what colour her eyes are. Even then, it can keep changing!

      • melissa says:

        She’s still too young to tell. My daughter’s eyes were blue until she was almost a year old. They are now very dark brown.

      • FLORC says:

        Goats
        It’s also possible someone who appears to have dark blue eyes actually reads out genetically as having brown eyes.
        As is the case with my brother in law. His parents have blue eyes. All other siblings have blue eyes. His wife has blue eyes. Yet his children came out all brown eyed. He got tested out of curiosity and sure enough. Brown dom trait.

      • Pace U. says:

        Some of the British Reporters who have seen George in person have said he has Brown eyes.

    • AnnieRose says:

      @LAK–stupid question, but why do you call him PGTIps? I understand all of the other nicknames I see in the comics, but not this one. Sorry if it is dumb and I am missing something obvious!

    • noway says:

      Kate’s eyes are definitely darker than Prince Williams. They appear to be hazel which has a lot of brown in it. As someone said eye color and genetics is far more complicated than we learned in early school, although the basics probably works for the majority with a small portion of us being different. I do know that the brown eyes is the dominant, and as with my daughter, I come from an entire family of blue eyed people, my husband is an entire family of brown eyed people. My daughter had my blue eyes until she was one, and then all of a sudden they turned brown and the dominant gene won. Charlotte has a while to see what will happen. I just love those blue socks on Prince George though.

  3. Kiddo says:

    The little Churchill is the dickens!

    • j.eyre says:

      And that’s no “kiss,” he’s whispering state secrets, apparently her training has been going better than expected. Lupo has been promoted to Executive Trainer as a result. Huzzah to all.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Adorable.

    • Pace U. says:

      I think Charlotte is going to be boss of George. Lol. So cute.

      • Feeshalori says:

        Yes, and she’s going to wrap all the men in the family around her little finger.

  4. aligoat says:

    So cute.

  5. Jegede says:

    George had dark eyes early on.

    In his christening pictures his eyes looked very brown.

    Charlotte’s hair and eyes appear on the fairer side.

    I’m going to guess that as with so many families and Mother Nature’s twist –
    The boy will like the mother; The girl will look like the father.

    Charlotte is going to resemble William/Diana more, right down to the colouring.

    • LAK says:

      I think his eye colour development will follow that of all the middleton children. They all had very dark eyes as babies/toddlers which grew lighter until they settled on hazel with flakes of brown.

    • Pace U. says:

      George’s eyes still look very brown. IMO his eyes are brown.

      His face looks so much like Kate’s wow. I see a Middleton face in George.

  6. Esmom says:

    “George looks like he’s doing a good job at tamping down his instinct to punch his sister.” Lol. He’s a better man than I was at that age.

    Utterly adorable.

  7. OSTONE says:

    Michael Middleton, Kate and George have very similar eye color, definitely hazel.

  8. sensible says:

    I love these photos so much, just the cutest ever, makes me all monarchy friendly.

    • inthekitchen says:

      That’s their plan! They spend lots of tax dollars and don’t do any work and then, voila, they release cute baby pictures so everyone forgets their lazy and work-shy nature.

      Plus IMO, it’s a distraction – once again – from the positive press that Harry was getting about his new knighthood. Seems that William can’t stand when Harry is in the spotlight! Some kind of old negative Harry news comes out or, as I said above, baby picture distraction…voila!

      • Betty says:

        Dollars?

      • Olenna says:

        “Dollars?” I know what inthekitchen meant. British pound, US or AUS dollar…it’s all money.

      • Illyra says:

        They’re not the drain on the economy that you believe them to be.

        “The True Cost of the Royal Family”:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhyYgnhhKFw

      • inthekitchen says:

        Obviously a slip of the tongue, but thanks for correcting me, Betty.

        Exactly, Olenna, it’s all money (that they haven’t earned).

      • LAK says:

        Llyra: that only takes into account ONE source of funding for the royals whilst ignoring all the other sources of funding that are spread around various government dept.

        It’s a good argument and it’s rubbish, but a lot of people believe it.

      • Sixer says:

        Illyria – LAK is entirely correct. Here, you can see a fully costed estimate of the total cost of the BRF – £300m, nine or ten times the amount of the Sovereign Grant: https://republic.org.uk/sites/default/files/wortheverypenny.pdf.

        This is from the main republican lobby group in the UK, so it’s as partisan as your video. But it has the facts and figures clearly delineated. You might think it’s appropriate for local authorities to bear the costs of royal visits, for example, so you could make your own deductions from that £300m total.

        But the fact remains that security costs £100m+ and revenues from the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which belong to the nation, also come to £100m+.

        Compare to the costs of other European heads of state, and the most expensive monarchy is £40m (Netherlands) and the most expensive republic is £35m (Poland). We pay a fortune for the BRF in the UK. So we are all entitled to scrutinise whether or not it is value for money, you know?

  9. Luca76 says:

    So adorable. George looks like he’s such a rascal.

  10. Capepopsie says:

    Oh, such cute kids!

  11. LadyoftheLoch says:

    She’s a Princess Peach. Very like mum, I think, but those eyes are straight from Diana. She’ll be a beauty no doubt. Picturing her with a teeny tiny tiara already!

    George is killing me with cuteness.

    • wow says:

      “She’ll be a beauty, no doubt”

      …this made me laugh. People probably said the same thing about Princess Anne when she was born. Probably even said it when The Queen was born to, and well… it turn out that way. Having an attractive parent isn’t a given that the children will be beautiful. Look at Prince Harry. His genuineness makes him attractive, but on looks alone, not so much.

      • LadyoftheLoch says:

        @ wow True, that. Those Windsor genes could dominate eventually, yikes, although her great-grandmama the Queen was considered to be the quintessential English Rose at the time of her marriage and Coronation. Even Princess Anne back in the day, around the time of her first marriage. Prince Harry is *still* a beautiful man, imo. Will be interesting to see how baby Charlotte turns out. Looks as if she has inherited her mother’s good bone structure at least, and those baby blue eyes are already beautiful. But you’re right – the Windsor genes could kick in at any time in the next couple of decades, and she may end up looking like a Hanoverian racehorse.

      • Pace U. says:

        IMO Young Queen Elizabeth II was way better looking than Kate is now. The Queen was Beautiful in her 20’s ,look at her at her Coronation. Her beauty was on par with Elizabeth Taylor’s IMO. Young 20’s,30’s Queen Elizabeth was stunning. The young Queen was gorgeous , she just never played up her beauty ,(go have a look at old photos of her,during her Coronation she was beautiful. IMO.)

        IMO 20,30’s Queen Elizabeth is better looking than Kate.

        I don’t find Kate a beauty , I think Kate is cute , she’s pretty and passable but not a beauty.
        Also Kate only has noticeable bone structure in her face when she’s really, really thin. Kate has more of round face, cute round cheeks which is where sweetie Prince George gets those adorably cute cheeks, which I love. 🙂

        That said…..if the strong Windsor genes kick in on George in his twenties, George may turn into William now! I don’t find William good looking at all anymore, sorry to say. So on that note, maybe the kids will age more in line with Middleton’s or Spencer’s.

      • LadyoftheLoch says:

        Yes, going by old newsreels the Queen and Princess Margaret were really beautiful in their youth, but then something happened. The Teck genes perhaps? Somehow their features grew heavier with age, and poor Anne lost her looks similarly, but much sooner.

        Just imo, but I think Kate is beyond pretty. Maybe not classically beautiful, but her bone structure and retrousse nose are very attractive. She is also very elegant, with a good “carriage” i.e. she holds herself very well, as a Duchess should.

        Diana was a true beauty, imo. If baby Charlotte takes after her she’ll have won the genetic lottery.

        ETA: Should have said, Kate holds herself very well THESE DAYS. Just remembered her crotch-flashing moments, LOL.

  12. PunkyMomma says:

    Just beautiful.

  13. Krishan says:

    The new baby is very Windsor especially the eyes, nose, and face shape. And quite big for a one month old! 😀

    George is darling. Beautiful child. I like the one of him kissing his sister and Charlotte had a small smile on her face, as if reacting to the kiss or whoever is behind the camera (maybe Carole).

  14. Nicolette says:

    Beautiful photos, George is absolutely adorable and Charlotte is a little sweet pea.

    • Sabrine says:

      The baby bears a resemblance to her ancestors, slightly to Queen Victoria and also to George VIII. It’s right there in her sweet little face.

  15. Olenna says:

    Cute kids, and she’s so alert! George favors Pippa so much, and Charlotte is a mix of William and Grandma Carole. BTW, if anyone’s seen the DM PR ad for Pipp’s charity, her photos are the best I’ve ever seen of her.

  16. Tig says:

    What adorable children! Great way to start the day- so sweet.

  17. grabbyhands says:

    God, I love that little chubbster and I don’t usually get gooey over royal babies (or royal anything, really). I love how he’s kind of looking her and and looking at the camera like, “Meh. I did all this better”.

  18. ncboudicca says:

    George’s socks are killing me. I love long socks on little boys – and the whole outfit is great. Charlotte’s little outfit is also cute. Exactly the kind of “privileged baby princelings” photo I like to see.

  19. notasugarhere says:

    Did anyone else read the comments from royal reporters? There was an embargo on the photos, and KP themselves broke the embargo. Just another W&K game and the press is seriously hacked off.

    • Dewdrop says:

      Ohhh! Where can those comments be found?

      • Ellen says:

        You can see one set of complaints by Richard Palmer of the Express: @RoyalReporter on Twitter

        We need a cheat sheet of the insiders upon whom the regular critics here depend, because I didn’t see much angst from the other usual suspects. That having been said, there is no doubt whatsoever that William will do everything in his power to run around the official British press, and going to the people directly on Twitter is part and parcel of William’s anti-Press sentiment. (I think Palmer’s complaint about Twitter being a US corporation is pretty ridiculous, but whatever. He’s also angry because his paper doesn’t have a Sunday edition so they’ve been left out of the sales bump — if there is one — today.)

      • hmmm says:

        @Ellen,

        Thanks for that. William just gave the finger to the press. This is getting interesting.

      • Daisy says:

        Tanna was vocally unhappy about it on his Twitter, too. Wasn’t he the Middleton’s pet paparazzi at one point? I wonder what happened there.
        He did compliment Kate on her photography skills.

    • Katydid20 says:

      I personally found it funny that everyone was complaining the day before about the private christening and the lack of pictures and then these showed up…….someone’s PR people are reading comments…….

    • bluhare says:

      I saw that. I’m now looking forward to what the press does in revenge because I’m a horrible person.

      Although why they have to make such productions out of everything — embargo over baby pictures???? — is beyond me. And then to break their own embargo. Hope they don’t expect wishes to be honored next time.

      • Sharon Lea says:

        ha – I thought the same thing, ‘wonder what the press will do to get back at them!’

      • Betti says:

        Cue a story coming about about pushy Carole and another attempt by her to cash in on the royal connections or about how Willy is letting her run his marriage/household.

        Breaking their own embargo is a nasty trick and was probably planned from the start – get them out their through their social media accounts, that way they get to control things.

        Can’t see the new PR guy sticking around for long – they’ve stopped playing ball. They need the press on their side, stunts like this will only alienate them and will encourage snark.

      • FLORC says:

        Bluhare
        It’s interesting William doesn’t seem to fully get what a role the press plays for him. They will push back if they think even these crumbs are not getting tossed to them.

      • Pace U. says:

        William keeps alienating the press. Yet they totally kiss his butt still.
        The early release of the photos ,despite the embargo was probably a thumb in the nose to the British press corps. William better HOPE the press never gets utterly fed up and turns on him, so far they still totally kiss up to him and Kate and basically soft peddle stories on them. The general public has no idea how really lazy these two are and how much they cost the public.

        Last week a reporter was also noting how PW basically mislead , lied to the press on how little they be at KP because they wanted to justify the cost of renovations.

        P.S. British Reporters who have seen George in person say his eyes are brown.
        They look brown to me. I am not sure why some are still disputing that he has brown eyes?

        Charlotte is a sweetie. Can’t wait to see who she resembles.

        George is a cutie , so adorable. He looks like Kate(Michael Midds) and a bit of Pippa in the face, IMO but he has William’s blonde haircolor.

      • MinnFinn says:

        They won’t do a full frontal attack though b/c that is shooting themselves in the foot. If someone angers Wm too much, he’ll exclude them from press calls and then that journo will lose their job.

        In the past, UK press did some major take-downs but it was only against minor royals e.g. Fergie. For the major royals, they do hold back and don’t reveal everything they know.

      • FLORC says:

        MinnFinn
        Should William every be removed from the line the flood gates will open and all hell will come through.

      • Jib says:

        Did Diana do this nonsense?? Embargo baby pics of the royal babies?? Again, if they don’t want people to want to see their babies, then Wills should step out of the line of succession for Harry. I think this would be better for all, especially the monarchy in the long run. Because these two lazy layabouts and their stingy ways with the press are NOT doing the royal family any good.

      • Pace U. says:

        Which is what has happened to Katie Nicholl, according to rumours floating , her once “supposed” position as whispering mouthpiece for Kate (& the Middleton’s) has been neutered. Rumour has it William was wondering where she was getting some of the finer details in her articles, which were hitting too close to home. Her once daily gushy and informative reports on all details of Kate and William (mainly Kate&Middleton’s) life and relationship ,has been slowed to barely a monthly drip,drip,drip and when she does write something now, it’s already things that other reporters already have in their stories.

        But …according to some in the UK Royal press corps, Katie Nicholl “made up” a lot in her stories, but still there was “enough truth in it,” to finally wake-up William’s suspicions to have “a look around ” at those in closer-proximity , concerning the previous leakage (IMO Middleton’s) …and now suddenly KNicholl access has practically stopped. Her Daily Mail articles are just not the same as during the years of Kate’s climb to get the ring. Her Vanity Fair articles are usually just rehashed news already put out in UK dailies the day before.

        Some say Sabastien Shakespeare of the Daily Mail is the one someone is now whispering to, but who is whispering is the question. Some believe he has an insider at the Palace who leaks things when needed.

  20. harmony says:

    I thought most babies are born with blue eyes and can/will change color by the time they are 6 months

    • Feeshalori says:

      This is true so we’ll have to wait and see if the color changes. I have a feeling she’ll retain the blue eyes, though.

    • tracking says:

      Yes. Too soon to tell about her eye color. My younger child had blue eyes until 17 months, at which point they turned light hazel.

    • MrsBPitt says:

      I know my younger son was born with the most beautiful blue eyes, His father has brown eyes, and I have hazel, with specs of green! He is 26 now, and has hazel eyes, with a lot of brown in them! Eye color def changes over time.

      These babies are adorable!!!

  21. Miss M says:

    Adorable photos!!!!

  22. Boxy Lady says:

    These pictures remind me of old footage of Prince Charles and Princess Anne when they were small. Those two were thick as thieves when they were little.

  23. Illyra says:

    Beautiful photos, George is so sweet with little Charlotte.

  24. Subconciously says:

    So there was some severe criticism of William’s and Kate’s lazyness and voilà there are some pics of cute children.

    Don’t let them off the hook so easily.

    • minx says:

      I’m not a royalist at all, but they are allowed to post pictures of their kids. People have been interested to see more of Charlotte.

    • Zombie Shortcake says:

      I thought the men in grey were specifically looking to overshadow Harry’s knighting with the release of these.

      • Margaret says:

        Can’t believe you’re the first to point this out.

      • Liberty says:

        You Zombie are correct, I think. So much effort by the palace to protect this lazy duo, who are now basically making bank off the charm of their children. So desperate to scuttle Harry, and his good efforts and natural popularity, that I shake my head.

    • FLORC says:

      You certainly can’t argue there hasn’t been a fortunate release of cute kids shots when the negative press reaches new highs.
      It’s extremely common practice. Deflection by way of baby pics works very well. Facts?! Nonsense. Haven’t you seen the photos of the children?

      The kids are cute. Will we see them more when there’s bad press or good press?

      • MinnFinn says:

        FLORC – I absolutely believe WK hold most of their kids’ photos until they need damage control.

        Wm said when they released one of George’s photos it was a reward to the press for having left them alone. So Wm is on the record stating that photos are bargaining chips.

      • FLORC says:

        MinnFinn
        They need to find a balance. William is almost appearing to tease the press treats and then toss them out to others.
        They could share photos outside of tactic purposes. Always a motive it seems.

      • Liberty says:

        FLORC, at this point I imagine William as a tight lipped sourpuss throwing the occasional penny out of his coach to the scrabbling commoners. If he is mad that he is a Prince, he certainly seems to act like the most entitled snotty nob ever. Is this all his internalized rage leaking out, is be badly counseled or is he just…..a jerk with a title.

      • Pace U. says:

        Liberty, some say William is a bit of a jerk, but the handlers do as much as possible to hide it.

    • enike says:

      I don´t mind why they posted the pictures, I am just glad, they did:)

      I love pictures of little George

  25. Maya says:

    Gorgeous pictures which put me in such a good mood.

  26. Betti says:

    Beautiful children but it’s a distraction to counter act all the bad PR they and the Midd family have been getting.

    Thou it is tradition to release royal baby pics but they r usually professionally done Those these r pro done u can tell by the lighting.

    Not sure if it done deliberately to take good PR from Harry, more like because they are not going to be at Trooping the Colour next wk or at least she won’t be.

  27. Alex says:

    Someday I’d like to see a picture of Prince George with his hair mussed up a bit, from playing. It’s so carefully combed all the time!

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      Same here. I remember when William took George to hospital to meet Charlotte, and People magazine ran an article on the type of hair gel that was used on him. I was totally baffled. George isn’t even two–surely people would be forgiving of (or even expecting) mussed hair?

    • LAK says:

      Alex: you can. There are several sets of pictures of him on the internet taken at parks.

      I’d google the ones with his nanny, he looks most comfortable in those sets.

  28. Christina says:

    j’adore!

  29. Talie says:

    I would love to see more photos of the interior design in their home. Looks very white anyway.

    • Sharon Lea says:

      Yes! Would love to see what kind of décor the living room has etc, and their garden area, how its landscaped.

    • Jib says:

      Yes, it would be nice to see how Carole decorated it. 🙂

  30. frisbeejada says:

    There has been a report in the press here this week that Kate intends to take the summer off to spend time with her children without the ‘distraction’ of public duties. It seems these very publicity friendly photo’s are intended to ‘distract’ the public from her continued lack of appearances. The sad thing is it will probably work.

    • Harmony says:

      It’s sad that Duchess Kate is wasting the opportunity to make a difference for her charities. Even a couple hours a week could do so much in just spreading awareness. i.e. taking pictures for her charity and have them posted – she wouldn’t have to speak in front of anyone and it would be huge publicity

      • frisbeejada says:

        Well yes, that is supposed to be the deal. They get a life of untold privilege and wealth and in return they do a service for those less well off and represent the Country as a whole. Problem? Nobody seems to have told them what the deal is and by reneging on it they will end up being despised – but then in some quarters they are already.

    • LAK says:

      I just feel sorry for the PR and office staff who have to make the public believe that she’s a busy person working for her charities and any time off is deserved.

      Mark Bolland, ex-Charles PR guy, once said that royals are very good at making 5mths of work seem like an entire year’s work (i’m paraphrasing), but I think Kate and William can’t pretend to keep that pretence up to maintain public goodwill.

      • Sharon Lea says:

        hahaha – did Bolland say that?! I remember one year it was reported that Charles had taken 12-13 vacations – maybe in the 90s, and I never saw another article like that again, not about any of the immediate royal family! Someone must have gotten a real ticking off for that story.

      • hmmm says:

        The Dolittles have the money to make them look good with PR. Heaven forbid that they move their heinies. That is their huge advantage.

        I don’t feel sorry for the PR staff. Surely they knew what they were getting into and considered it a challenge. They seem quite able, so far, to turn merde into gold, even if not everyone buys it. IMO, a pox on them too, for allowing the Lazies to flourish in the press.

      • frisbeejada says:

        Can you tell me LAK if their private engagements are also counted as Royal Duties? I seem to remember reading somewhere ages ago that because they are Royal that even dinner with friends counts as a public engagement because they are giving ‘an audience’. I may have completely mis-remembered this and just wanting to believe the worst (@ hmmm – a pox of all their houses!) so I would appreciate you enlightening me!

      • LAK says:

        Freesbijada: Technically private engagements and meetings aren’t counted, BUT in order to boost Kate’s numbers, they started to add her private meetings into her tally. Occasionally they throw in one or two William and Harry’s private meetings in their tally.

        The Kate private meetings as engagements warranted an article from Richard Palmer in which he disclosed the fact that the Palace had decided to do this to boost her numbers to counter the lazy and shopping tag she’d acquired post marriage.

      • Kiki04 says:

        The way things are going with her yearly tally, I wonder if they will count taking this photo as “work” for Kate?

      • Betti says:

        There was the famous recent entry into the Court Circular for Kate where they put Charlotte’s birth as an official engagement for her. Clutching at straws much.

  31. Tough Cookie says:

    I have been so excited about American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, that I totally missed seeing these pics earlier LOL, I guess they were released yesterday? …..I saw some Facebook posts yesterday mentioning Princess Charlotte and for some dumb reason I thought it was something to do with Princess Caroline’s daughter Charlotte’s baby…

    George looks very much like William did at that age, which does not bode well for him in 30 or so years, poor tyke.

    oh and I bet one of these pics will be the cover of People magazine next week with a gushing article about “Princess Kate!! Just like us and a skilled photographer to boot!!”

    • Tiffany says:

      I cannot unsee Pop Middleton in those two cherubs.

      Also, I would have banked that American Pharoah would have won by a larger lane margin. That mile and the half is tough and Espinosa did not have to push as hard Preakness.

    • bluhare says:

      And I am hiding in shame as I didn’t notice that his name is not spelled like an Egyptian pharaoh. He looks like my Auggie, who died a few years ago. (I know; there’s zillions of horses just like him, but he really does have Auggie’s look.)

      • Tough Cookie says:

        LOL Bluhare…..I didn’t realize it myself until after the Preakness!!
        My spell check keeps trying to change it.

    • Pace U. says:

      I think George has Kate’s face totally. I don’t see any of Williams face in George, but George got his hair, but his face looks all Middleton to me!

      Look at old baby, toddler photos of Kate and she and George have same face..also George has more of a Kate, Pippa , Mike Midds nose.

  32. Sharon Lea says:

    I’m curious if the public will be given any photos of Charlotte’s christening if it is going to be a private affair at Sandringham? Their children are soooo cute, I really wish they’d give us a photo every 4 months or so. Maybe Kate could give us some more photos in the next few years?

    I always wondered about Diana’s personal photo albums, I read she was a keen family photographer and she had many photo albums. There must be some cute pics of little Harry & William. I kept worrying that uncle Charles and his display at Althorp would suddenly have the pictures out too. I still don’t know what to make of uncle Charles, he was so awful to deny Diana a country bolt hole out at Althorp, but made that big speech at her funeral.

    • Pace U. says:

      It would be wonderful if they went LIVE coverage inside the chapel like Monaco’s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert did. The Monaco christening was full LIVE coverage and absolutely Stunning, so Beautiful. The Monaco couple even went out and greeted the public who gathered at the Palace afterwards.
      Monaco’s LIVE coverage christening was amazing, Very well done.

    • LadyoftheLoch says:

      Me too, Sharon Lea. I wanted to applaud his speech at Diana’s funeral as he truly came across as a noble being and an utterly heartbroken brother, but then I read about him refusing Diana a cottage on the grounds of Althorp so she could escape from the pressures of public scrutiny prior to her early and terrible death.

      Apparently he also treated his ex-wife, Lady Victoria, like crap, although I don’t know many of the details.

  33. Livealot says:

    George is adorable and I love the picture of him kissing his sister. Otherwise, I think they should have waited to release charlottes picture… her features aren’t as developed and thus looks kinda weird.

    • SillySimone says:

      All babies look this way at this age. So there is nothing wrong with releasing the photos. If everyone hid their children away until they were more developed, there would never be any baby photos. She looks like every other baby at this age: adorable.

  34. racer says:

    Why of course they have professional photos, probably strategically placed around the lovely home that was gifted to them. However, those photos are personal. The public gets the crumbs. So happy I don’t live in the UK. In America we can vote out our losers very four years. The monarchy is a continuous joke and the people are being played indefinitely. Cute kids though and happy they are healthy.

  35. SillySimone says:

    I think they are cute. But why on earth do they dress the boy this way? Little knickers and long socks? He looks too style to actually have fun and run around in the mud.

    • minx says:

      I would imagine these are his “photo” clothes.

      • Citresse says:

        Don’t they dress aristo boys in shorts and socks until age eight? I think eight is the big number for long pants.

      • SillySimone says:

        Whenever I have seen photos of him, he is always dressed like this. I mean regular pap photos.

    • Justme says:

      We’ve seen pictures of him in the park wearing play clothes, overalls etc. however these are dress clothes for a special event. They are classic little boy clothes. When my daughter was little I dressed her in play clothes most of the time, but for Easter Sunday Mass and special events she wore pretty dresses with smocking etc. Classic children’s clothing never goes out of fashion.

      • SillySimone says:

        I would love to see those. If you have the links, pls post?

      • Pace U. says:

        The park photos are in Women’s Own magazine and another Australian publications, also The New York Daily NEWS ran the park photos.
        George is dressed in overalls I think and a lumber jack type jacket or heavy jacket,, his hair is wild and looks more curly if I recall. He’s having a good ole time.

        I saw one photo recently of the outing where George runs over to some girls who where there and hugs them goodbye as he’s leaving, it’s sooooooo sweet!

  36. Citresse says:

    Charlotte resembles the Queen.
    I haven’t read through all the comments yet, but it appears W&K are keen on that tone of blue (socks). Didn’t he wear such when carried into the Lindo Wing?
    Lovely photos.

  37. Carmen says:

    I wish Diana could see those pictures.

  38. Mia says:

    Talking about little things: when the hell is Sophie Hunter hatching? Was the Cumberspawn born already?

  39. Vava says:

    Well, ok…………photos of the Sprouts.

    I’ll be the one odd ball to say that I am rarely enamored by newborns, and this baby princess is no exception. I don’t think she’s all that cute. And I didn’t think George was either, when he was that little.

    As for the Great Kate photos…………they are fine, certainly better than her father’s but are they worth all the hoopla? Not to me. I don’t think Kate is exceptionally talented with the camera, sorry.

    • CG says:

      I’m with you. Babies don’t do it for me so when everybody coos over how OMG TOTES ADORBS George and Charlotte and North West are, I’m just like … meh.

    • FLORC says:

      An expensive camera and some assistance to figure out (or auto setting) is all it takes.
      I have a friend that has true talent behind the lense. It’s apparent when it’s there. To have the eye.

    • frisbeejada says:

      Me neither, but show me a picture of a puppy and then I’ll get all dewy eyed…

    • Jib says:

      Ugh, so many “exploding ovaries” on the fug site, I had to come here to get some reality. Gross.

      • L says:

        Their coverage on Kate is why I don’t go to that site (at all) these days, the double standard is too annoying.
        A kid is a kid. I’d love to see the comments if people didn’t know they were pictures of a princess taken by “the duchess”.

  40. Patty says:

    I can’t muster up any excitement for G and C because their parents are so friggin lazy. I can only imagine how their kids will turn out.

  41. Elly says:

    The boy looks so much like Michael Middleton… Same face.
    No big surprise, most boys look like mother and maternal grandfather, while daughters often look like daddy´s side. So the girl may look very Spencer/Windsorish later.
    If the Windsor genes are strong in the girl i feel for her. Seriously if “St.Diana´s Princess” won´t look as beautiful as holy grandma and f.e. looks more like Zara or the York Princesses then Charlotte will get horrible bashed and critizized for her looks (especially her weight) by the press while Georgie boy will get the free pass like royal sons usually get.

  42. zoem says:

    Lol, they release official portraits at the same time every year. No need for timing conspiracy theories.

  43. JRenee says:

    Adorbs!!!!

  44. Lisa says:

    George looks just like Louie Anderson and Charlotte looks just like the queen!

  45. Lo8 says:

    Akon is about to supply 500 million Africans with solar power.

  46. SAM says:

    Duchess KATE, you used your ‘”THE SECRETS” POWER to actually end up marrying Prince William .. Okay good on you an your power of creating what you want !!!! Please stop feeding us the stupid pictures of your soooooooooooooo privileged kidoes !!!! Okay 99.99 present of people don’t have that kinda royalty!!