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Prince George

Prince George's first official photos released

Andrea Mandell
USA TODAY
Duchess Kate's father, Michael Middleton, took the first official portrait of Prince George.

The first official photos of little Prince George break from tradition in a big way.

According to Kensington Palace, the two official portraits of Prince William, Duchess Kate and the young prince were taken by Michael Middleton, Kate's father and George's grandfather, in the garden of the Middletons' family home in Bucklebury. Baby George is asleep in the photos and is held by Kate, who wears a maroon dress.

Even Lupo, the couple's black cocker spaniel, makes an appearance in one shot, tongue wagging, as does Tilly, the Middleton family retriever.

The photos were leaked several hours earlier than intended. Kensington Palace planned to release the images at 7:01 p.m. ET, but they started popping up on several websites around 4:30 p.m. ET. The palace had no comment on the leak.

In the past, official royal baby pictures, including of William himself after he was born 31 years ago, have been formal, staged affairs by professional photographers such as Mario Testino, a favorite of Will's mother, Princess Diana. He was also the photographer who took the couple's official engagement pictures.

In a taped interview with CNN that aired Monday morning, Prince William described Prince George, born July 22 at St. Mary's Hospital in London, as "a bit of a rascal."

"He either reminds me of my brother (Prince Harry) or me when I was younger, I'm not sure. He's doing very well at the moment. He does like to keep having his nappy (diaper) changed," he said. "He's growing quite quickly actually. He's a little fighter. He wriggles around a lot. He doesn't want to get his sleep, which is a little bit of a problem."

William reflected on the significance of becoming a first time dad: "The last few weeks for me have been a different emotional experience, 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."

Contributing: Alison Maxwell

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