UK royals unveil first family photo

The first official photos of Britain’s Prince George have been released — and, cradled in his mother’s arms, he appears as if does not have a care in the world.

Lying in the arms of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, the newborn, who is third in line to the throne, seems to be sleeping, oblivious to what is going on around him or the duties that will one day be expected of him.

His father, William, the Duke of Cambridge, is to the left of his wife in both photographs, looking on proudly with a protective arm around Kate.

The intimate pictures were taken by Kate’s father Michael Middleton in a shady spot of the garden of the family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, earlier this month.

Kate, wearing a long maroon dress and with her hair in waves over her shoulders, and William in jeans and a blue gingham shirt, are both smiling directly into the camera.

Wrapped in a white blanket similar to the one he was in when he was brought out of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, the day after he was born, the only part of George that can be seen is his head, which is crowned by a soft layer of hair.

In one of the photos, the royal couple are joined by their black cocker spaniel Lupo while Tilly, a golden retriever belonging to the Middletons, can be seen lying down behind them.

In a more formal, photo, Kate and William are standing, their faces framed by the green leaves of the trees around them.

The photos were released by Kensington Palace exactly four weeks after George was born.

In his first interview since he became a father, William said his son reminded him of himself or Prince Harry.

He told CNN: “He’s a little bit of a rascal, I’ll put it that way. He either reminds me of my brother or me when I was younger, I’m not sure, but he’s doing very well at the moment.”

William described George as a “little fighter” and said he was “growing quite quickly”. “He kind of, he wriggles around quite a lot,” he said. “And he doesn’t want to go to sleep that much, which is a little bit of a problem.”

William, who said Kate was doing a “fantastic job”, said he believed fatherhood has changed him already.

“I think the last few weeks for me have been just a very different emotional experience,” he said.

“Something I never thought I would feel myself. And I find, again it’s only been a short period, but a lot of things affect me differently now.”