As hoped, new photos of Prince George were released today to mark his 3rd birthday. And they’re fabulous. 
There was also a brief statement about the pictures, this is via The Mirror:
A spokesman for Kensington Palace said: “The Duke and Duchess hope that people will enjoy seeing these new photographs.
“They would like to thank everyone for all the lovely messages they have received as Prince George celebrates his third birthday.”
They were all shot outside at the Cambridge’s country home, Anmer Hall.
©Matt Porteous
More on the photos from The Express:
Keen photographer Kate is usually behind the lense and has taken a collection of stunning photographs of the Royal children. However this time, they were taken by professional photographer Matt Porteous in mid-July. Mr Porteous said: “I really enjoyed the opportunity to take these photographs of Prince George. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. I’m honoured that they have decided to share these images with the public to mark his third birthday.”
Kensington Palace released the photos via social media this morning. Below, a screen grab shows the Palace Instagram page.
Kensington Palace Instagram
If merely looking at the number of times any of the four photos have been ‘liked’ on Instagram, the outfit that seems to be the favorite is this one.
©Matt Porteous
As we noted in our What Kate’s Kids Wore post, it’s not surprising to see George in pieces with a nautical influence. We know how many Breton stripe tops Kate has; they are a fundamental part of her wardrobe, basic elements she’ll build an ensemble around.
Heads Together/Matt Porteous
From Emma Spedding’s story for The Telegraph:
The Duchess of Cambridge’s off-duty wardrobe is always pinned around one thing: a classic Breton top, usually from a high-street favourite such as J.Crew or Me and Em. And it seems that she has applied the same ‘Kings Road on a Saturday’ approach to casualwear when dressing Prince George.
Below, a quick sampling of Kate’s stripe style: in the first two photos she wears pieces from ME + EM; the first at the Beaufort Festival of Polo last June and the next while yacht racing during the 2014 tour; then paired with her skinny jeans and Smythe One Button Blazer for a SportsAid workshop in October 2013; and with Charlotte at the Houghton Hall Horse Trials in May, when she wore the Tori stripe top by Ralph Lauren.
©James Whatling, Splash News/i-Images/Splash News/Helen Mathias, Splash News
The Duchess easily dresses the tops up or down, depending on the circumstances: skinny jeans in most situations, a pair of Sebago Bala flats if at a casual function, or with her Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon wedges for work engagements. Here we see Kate and George in thinner stripes, both with the quirky little pocket on the left. You will probably recognize the red/navy Petit Bateau tee worn by the Duchess for the Vogue shoot.
©Josh Olins/Petit Bateau/Sunuva/Matt Proteous
Visit What Kate’s Kids Wore for all of the details on George’s different outfits, including how to pre-order the blue and white tee you see him wearing below. In his People story Simon Perry notes it has been a busy year for HRH:
It’s been a big year for the adorable heir to the throne. He started preschool in January at Westacre Montessori school, had a historic meeting with President Obama in April and appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour alongside Charlotte in June.
Earlier this month the airplane-loving boy joined his parents on one of their official outings to see planes and helicopters up close at an air show.
The fourth photo released today shows George on the swing shown in the first photo.
©Matt Porteous
It turns out the swing generated quite a bit of buzz on its own merits, with many saying how much they liked it when the photos were released. The swing is available online via Not on the High Street, an online retailer offering British goods made by a broad variety of independent businesses. The Oak and Rope Company makes the swing, available in different sizes.
The Oak and The Rope Company
Many thanks to Gemma of FoodFashFit for sharing info about the swing. The Daily Telegraph created a graphic with some of the best quotes about George, and one from the birthday boy himself.
The Telegraph
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We have one more brief note today, this one showing the power of Kate’s message about children’s mental health. The sign below was photographed by Emily Jensen when she was visiting Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.
Courtesy Emily Jensen
The verbiage was part of Kate’s video message in support of the UK’s first Children’s Mental Health Week in February of 2015.
Place2Be
The full quote from Kate’s video:
A child’s mental health is just as important as their physical health and deserves the same quality of support. No one would feel embarrassed about seeking help for a child if they broke their arm — and we really should be equally ready to support a child coping with emotional difficulties.”
Emily’s photo shows an element of an overall Cherokee Nation effort called HERO, Helping Everyone Reach Out. The initiative provides “a place that counsels Native children on how to cope with everything from abuse to doing better in school.” More from a news release:
“It’s a wonderful asset to add into our health care system. Now Cherokee and other Native children have a safe and comfortable place to come and get the services that will help them.
I doubt when the Cambridge’s mental health focus launched many of us would have predicted the ripples might extend this far. Our thanks to Emily for showing us they do.
We’ll see you Sunday for the America’s Cup races. When we may well see more Breton stripes.
We leave you with this graphic showing George’s adorable expressions over the years. It’s part of our Prince George Birthday Photo Fest at WKKW, just scroll past the outfit info to see the pictures of George.
Top row: ©John Stillwell Center Row: ©Mario Testino Bottom Row: © Matt Porteous
LINKAGE:
- Emma Spedding’s fashion story in The Telegraph is here
- The Express story about the new pictures is here; The Daily Mail story on the photos is here; The Mirror’s story is here
- Our backgrounder on the origins of the Breton stripe sailor shirt is in this post (scroll down just a bit and you’ll see it)
Thanks for the lovely George photos, both here and over on What Kate’s Kids Wore. He looks such a personable little chap and like his mother has a character which shines through the compulsive urge to keep buying Breton.
At least we got the linen shorts this time, although I still don’t quite know why his Mum feels the need to flatten his curls for photos. He looks fine with his naturally bouncy hairstyle to me, very much a part of him.
That’s amazing that Kate’s words found their way onto a public sign in darkest Oklahoma like that. It’s very touching to think she’s able to reach out that far.
Happy Birthday Prince George! Such lovely pictures – the one of George feeding Lupo ice-cream is too sweet.
So adorable, and a lovely post as usual thanks for sharing the information.
Thanks for the source Not on the High Street. That swing is great and would make the perfect wedding gift but shipping to the U.S. is prohibitive. Couldn’t find anything as nice on Etsy but not giving up!
He definitely seems to have his father’s and Lady Diana’s long legs!
That quote from George about Harry being so quiet is adorable!
P.S. Thanks for the history on French Striped Navy Tops. It was very interesting. I had thought they were a working class fashion among onion sellers. (Pardon my ignorance). I do like it that this site goes the extra mile (the nautical mile, lol??). 🙂
Five photographs were shown of Kate in Navy/White (or Cream) Breton tops, she certainly likes them!!! Some are jumpers, others tee-shirt tops. The Petit Bateau tee was different though as it was coloured. Unfortunately, it looked orange on Kate whilst the website picture (and ALL the pictures I have seen make it look a Fuschia Pink (as on this post – you posted as shown) but it is described as RED, shame as I would have bought if for someone & I don’t like the botheration of returns)!
In addition to these 6 Breton Tops though, Kate has 2 more. She wore a sleeveless jumper to the London olympics (or was it Wimbledon) & also had a vee-back stripe vest underneath a thin modern waterproof material on a recent sporty sailing/canoe trip. The vee-back could be seen plainly.
Personally, I don’t like Breton or nautical stripes but it’s Kate’s uniform when she is going to be photographed casually. (she likes check shirts when truly private). I see she dresses George in her favourite Blue & stripes too. I’m looking forward to seeing what she wears for Pippa’s wedding.
Happy Birthday Prince George!
Darling little boy who is the spitting image of his grandfather Middleton.
The video is one of my favorite Kate looks. The lighter hair, smaller brows, lightly colored eye shadow. I loved it then & still do!!
I also love the swing – super cute
I agree Patty. Kate’s makeup in the video was done with a lighter touch than usual. It is soft and very effective, with less drama and a more “girl next door” look.
What a beautiful boy! He’s a little poppet. I think George will continue to benefit from having such hands on parents. William, Kate, George and Charlotte…with perhaps additional children to come….have elevated our interest and respect for the British Royal Family.
He’s grown so big! I love how he dresses like his mom!
Very cute photos, but I’m afraid the first thing that came into my head upon seeing them was “Yipes! Stripes!” from the by-now-truly-ancient Beechnut Fruit Stripe Gum commercial of my childhood in the 1960s. I genuinely hadn’t thought of it in eons. I think, perhaps, the Duchess’s love of nautical stripes is beginning to wear on me.
I was interested to see that the Cherokee Nation sign identifies the author of the quotation as “Kate Middleton” rather than the “Duchess of Cambridge” or even “Kate Cambridge”. I’m normally a little exasperated when people call her by a name she hasn’t used since her wedding day, but in the context, I think it was appropriate. Native Americans, of all of us here in North America, seem the least likely to be impressed by foreign royal titles or to feel the need to use them. Which, I think, is probably as it should be.
Great post!
Thanks for showing the reach of the message! 🙂
Good job!
Thank you Alejandra! 🙂