Princess Charlotte: Royal baby pictured at six months in new images taken by Kate Middleton

Photographs taken by Duchess of Cambridge showing her second child howling with laughter as she snaps away are released by Kensington Palace

0

53

0

53

Email

Princess Charlotte plays with a cuddly toy dog in a picture taken by her mother Photo: Duchess of Cambridge

By Danny Boyle

1:26PM GMT 29 Nov 2015

Laughing while sat playing with a cuddly toy dog, Princess Charlotte looks pretty in pink in new pictures released to mark her six-month milestone.

The two official images - the first time the fourth in line to the throne has been seen in public since her Christening in July - were taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge.

They were released by Kensington Palace on Sunday to thank fans for the good wishes sent to the royal couple.

The photographs were taken by Kate at their family home Anmer Hall in Norfolk early in November. Kate is an accomplished amateur photographer and took a joint portrait of her children George, aged two, and Charlotte a few weeks after her daughter was born on May 2.

In the first picture released, Charlotte is seen to now have a full head of hair as she sits in an armchair with her toy. She howls with laughter as her mother snaps away with the camera - believed to be the same Canon EOS 5D Mark II she used for previous shots of her children.

In the second image, the princess is shown looking past the camera as if something has caught her attention behind the Duchess.

Princess Charlotte sits up, laughs and appears to be engrossed with the world in the new images  Photo: Duchess of Cambridge

Charlotte is believed to be wearing a pink cashmere cardigan over a Liberty print dress with a frilly collar.

Babies of Charlotte's age are making major strides in their development and the princess appears to have reached some of her targets - sitting up, laughing and engrossed with the world, and is likely to be gurgling and able to roll around unaided.

The last time the princess was seen in public was in July during her christening at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

The new images once again show the Duchess's ability behind the camera as she follows in hallowed royal photographic footsteps.

The first official pictures of Princess Charlotte - taken when she was just a fortnight old and alongside her big brother, Prince George - were captured by the Duchess and released in June.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte in an image taken by their mother  Photo: HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2015

The palace released four images captured in mid-May at Anmer Hall, the Norfolk country house that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have made home for their growing family.

In one of the photographs, Prince George held his sister’s tiny hand in his ever so slightly bigger one.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte  Photo: HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2015

In another, he appeared to be patting her on the tummy as he looked rather fondly into her eyes.

In a third, the two infants stared up into space and away from the camera, one suspects distracted by an adult - presumably Prince William - who wants them to look away from the camera.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte  Photo: HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2015

In the fourth in the series, the prince, who turns two next month, gave his baby sister a tender kiss on the forehead.

• Life lessons for Princess Charlotte
• Princess Charlotte will 'look after me when I am very old'

George, in all likelihood, was getting into practice for all those hundreds and thousands of babies he will have to kiss on future royal walkabouts. Certainly he already seemed well versed in kissing babies; and judging by Princess Charlotte’s reaction, she seems delighted with the attention.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The photograph was taken by the Duchess in mid-May at Anmer Hall in Norfolk.  Photo: HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2015

Prince George wore a white shirt with blue piping around the collar, cuffs and front, with matching blue shorts and socks. With his hair parted at the side, he appeared every inch a throw-back to a more innocent age.

His sister wore a white romper suit with a knitted sweater over the top - with not a spot of pink in sight.

Prince George has been dressed head to toe for the occasion in the exact same outfit he wore when he was taken by his father to St Mary’s Hospital’s Lindo Wing to meet his sister when she was born.

Prince George arrives at the Lindo Wing with Prince William  Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth

The Duchess is proving herself adept at handling a camera and appears to be outperforming her father Michael Middleton in the photography stakes.

When Kensington Palace released the first family photographs of the duke and Duchess holding little baby George - with their dog Lupo included - experts were less than enthusiastic about the composition and lighting.

George's grandfather Michael Middleton took this photograph of the happy royals who were joined for the picture by Lupo the spaniel and Tilly the golden retriever.  Photo: MICHAEL MIDDLETON/PA

For the pictures released in June, the Duchess used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II costing more than £1,000 and got thumbs up from the experts.

“The Duchess of Cambridge has a passion for photography and here she has shot four beautiful photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte,” said Matthew Fearn, The Telegraph’s picture editor, adding: “The Duchess is to be commended on producing such a lovely set of portraits which will, I imagine, give great joy to both members of the Royal family and the wider public.”

For the technically-minded, he suggested the Duchess had used a “fairly wide aperture” to give a narrow depth of field that deliberately “throws the background out of focus”. The lighting, added the Telegraph’s expert, was “technically excellent”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their second child, Princess Charlotte  Photo: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

The Duchess follows hallowed royal photographic footsteps. Prince William’s great uncle by marriage is Lord Snowdon while Lord Lichfield, who died in 2005, was a cousin once removed of the Queen. Both men were towering figures in British photography.

The Duchess no doubt had too much on her hands to take the pictures when Princess Charlotte was christened at the same church where her late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales was baptised.

The royal baby was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Sunday, July 5 in the church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, close to Anmer Hall.

The service was private, but photographs taken by Mario Testino were released to the media afterwards.

Timeline: the arrival of the new royal princess

The birth

6am - Kate goes into labour

The Duchess of Cambridge is admitted to the Lindo Wing of Saint Mary's Hospital after going into labour. It is the same location where Prince George was delivered.

8.34am - The new royal baby is born

The Duke of Cambridge is present as the royal princess is delivered at 8.34am, weighing 8lbs 3oz. The world's media waits outside the hospital for news.

11am - Announcement

NodGV1dDo-ES4yhPR6FrIcr2QBJk1Cb4

Kensington Palace releases a statement on their website informing the public that the new arrival is a girl. A town crier makes an announcement outside the Lindo Wing.

3pm - Easel is placed outside Buckingham Palace

Two footmen place the official announcement of the birth on an easel outside Buckingham Palace.

4pm - Prince George arrives

Prince George nearly steals the show as he waves to the gathered public.

18.12 - The Royal Princess emerges

The Duke and Duchess make a quick appearance to show Princess Cambridge to an ecstatic crowd. They then make their way home after retreating to the Lindo Wing for a few short minutes.