William and Kate release photographs of prince

Britain’s Prince George is growing up fast and quickly turning from a toddler to a young boy, official Christmas photographs released by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge show.

He may only be 16 months old in the pictures taken a few weeks ago, but George, third in line to the throne, looks self-assured and confident.

In all of the photos a rosy-cheeked George is sitting on stone steps in a courtyard at Kensington Palace, where his parents, William and Kate, live in Princess Margaret’s former apartment.

With his hair neatly combed, he wears a blue sleeveless jumper, decorated with marching guardsmen complete with bearskins and red tunics, over a white top and dark shorts and matching socks and shoes.

The last official pictures of George were published to mark his first birthday on July 22 and, in the intervening four months, the Queen’s great-grandson has lost his babyish face and appears to have grown taller.

The photographs were taken in late November by an unnamed member of the Duke and Duchess’s staff, possibly their live-in Spanish nanny, Maria Teresa TurrionBorrallo. The next milestone in George’s life will be the birth of his brother or sister, due in late April.

The decision by William and Kate to release the pictures may be seen partly as a thank-you for allowing George to grow up free from media intrusion.