Royal Baby Photos: First Official Images of Prince George

Aug. 19, 2013 — -- The first official photos of royal baby Prince George have been released by the palace.

Prince William and Kate decided to forgo professional portraits in favor of a few backyard snapshots taken by Kate's father, Michael Middleton.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen to release two family photographs with their son, Prince George," Kensington Palace said in a statement.

"The photographs were taken by Mr. Michael Middleton in early August in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire," the statement said.

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Both of the photos show William, Kate and George in the sunny garden. In one of the photos, they are sitting in the garden, joined by their cocker spaniel Lupo and Tilly, a Middleton family retriever.

In the other photo, the smiling parents are standing in the garden with Prince George. An apparently sleeping George is swaddled in a white blanket in his mother's arms in both photos.

Kate is wearing a magenta dress and her signature perfectly coiffed hair in loose waves. A casual William opted for a crisp light blue and white button-down and jeans.

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Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been largely holed up with Prince George for the first weeks of his life. Until today, the only photos of the little prince had been the ones taken when he left the hospital with his parents on July 23.

The couple has been laying low since leaving the hospital for Kensington Palace. They were seen leaving the palace not long after, reportedly to head to Kate's parents' home in Bucklebury.

William has appeared at two official royal engagements since becoming a dad, one at a charity polo tournament and the other at an agricultural show on the Welsh island of Anglesey where he and Kate have lived while he serves his Royal Air Force duty on the island base.

At the agricultural show, William said that baby George is "pretty loud and extremely good-looking."

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"I thought search-and-rescue duties over Snowdonia were physically and mentally demanding but looking after a three-week-old baby is right up there," William joked.

Kate is expected to make her first official appearance at a charity dinner with William on Sept. 12, less than two months after she gave birth to the couple's first child, according to palace officials.

The baby's official title is His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge. His full name is Prince George Alexander Louis.

Prince George was born July 22 at 4:24 p.m. London time. He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, according to an official announcement from Kensington Palace four hours after the birth.