A New Family Photo from the Cambridges & George is Headed to Nursery School!

As hoped this holiday season, Kensington Palace released a new picture of Kate, William, George and Charlotte.

More about the photo from The Daily Mail:

It is the first time the family have released a photograph at Christmas and only the second official portrait of the family of four. A Kensington Palace spokesman said the photograph was commissioned for their own use but that the couple decided to make it public because they liked it so much. 

This is the first time we have seen the Duke, Duchess, Prince and Princess together since Charlotte’s christening in early July. 

The new photograph will be used on the family’s Christmas card. The picture was taken in late October at Kensington Palace by photographer Chris Jelf, a former soldier serving with the Light Dragoons. More from Gordon Rayner’s story in The Telegraph.

Mr Jelf, who was chosen through a recommendation from a friend, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed photographing a very lovely family, although you have to be sharp as you don’t have long when there are two young children involved!

“I hope everyone enjoys this photo and I am honoured that The Duke and Duchess have decided to share it with the public.”

On his website Mr. Jelf talks about his love of photography:

My father gave me an old manual Pentax when I was 12 and since then I have been passionate about photography. I never dreamt it would become my career, but after spending my 20’s in the Army, it sort of happened by accident.

The picture was taken at Kensington Palace in late October. George looks particularly happy in a blue Fairisle sweater and shorts, while his sister Charlotte is in the same outfit worn in the photos taken by the Duchess that were released in November.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge/Chris Jelf-PA Wire

The Palace also released news that prince George will start nursery school part-time in January. He will attend  Westacre Montessori school near the family’s Norfolk home; the school is actually located on the Sandringham estate. Back to The Telegraph article:

Both Prince William and Prince Harry attended Montessori nurseries, though the Duchess of Cambridge went to a local pre-school in Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, where her family lived at the time.  Prince George’s new school was opened 23 years ago and has 27 children…Westacre, which is housed in a converted chapel, teaches children aged two to five and was rated “good” in its latest Ofsted report earlier this year.

The news is the latest evidence that the Duke and Duchess regard Norfolk as their main home, rather than their London residence at Kensington Palace.

Identifying what Kate wore in the new image will be very difficult because of the way the Duchess is situated in the picture. At best we can say she is wearing a gray v-neck sweater atop an open-front shirt that I believe is a button-down, with dark navy skinny jeans or leggings. Kate is also wearing her sapphire/diamond earrings and a pair of navy sneakers (trainers) with a white sole.

Taking a closer look at the shoes one can see the white sole a little better; it looks deeper than that seen on other sneakers Kate has worn, in keeping with the current trend in fashionable sneakers; the sneakers also have gold or silver eyelets. On the Facebook page Jennifer suggest Kate is wearing the Mint Velvet plimsoll similar to the grey pair she has, we show that below left. On the right we show a pair with an even thicker sole, the Gant Alice shown below, although Kate’s have navy laces. (This is illustrative only, I am not suggesting this is the pair Kate is wearing in the photo.)

Mint Velvet/PA Wire/GANT

We will do a search for the sweater the Duchess has on and see if we come up with anything remotely similar. As we gather new information we will update the post! For much more detailed information about what Charlotte and George are wearing click here to visit What Kate’s Kids Wore; today’s post also includes news about a new brand that Kate is fond of for both children.