Family Portraits of the Cambridge Family Released, Malta Trip Confirmed & Latest News

Two portraits of the Cambridge family were released by the Palace to mark Prince George's first birthday tomorrow.

PA

As expected, they offer lovely shots of William and Kate with their son in an informal setting. In this beautiful photo below Kate is holding George as he touches a butterfly which is resting on his father's hand. I think this one is my favourite official photo of the family together thus far.

PA

A closer look at the Blue Morpho butterfly.

Rebecca English Twitter Feed/PA

The photos were taken by Press Association photographer John Stillwell at the Natural History Museum's 'Sensational Butterflies' exhibition earlier this month. On Saturday night the Palace released a portrait of George toddling towards the camera. Shall we take another look? (I don't know about you, but I never tire of seeing photos of Georgeous).

Clarence House Twitter Feed

William and Kate issued the following statement to mark George's birthday:

'We would like to take this opportunity on George's first birthday to thank everyone over the last year, wherever we have met them both at home and overseas, for their warm and generous good wishes to George and our family.'

A closer look at the birthday boy.

PA

Can you believe it's been a year since this?

The portraits have proven very popular with tomorrow's papers.

Daily Mail

A look at the cover of The Express.

Daily Express

For the portraits, the Duchess selected her Budding Heart Silk Tea Dress by Suzannah. The £475 frock is based on the brand's best-selling 1930's inspired tea dress style. It's described as "a fabulous day dress" with a matt silk crepe skirt part lined in 100% habotai.

Suzannah

The Duchess wore the pretty frock underneath her Erdem coat during the royal tour and most recently at the Tour de France send-off. It's great to finally see it properly and it was an excellent choice for the nature and location of the photo-call.

Kate accessorised with her Annoushka pearls.

It is believed the Cambridges plan to move to their country home in Norfolk shortly where Prince William will take up a full-time position with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. This may be the last time we see little George for quite a while, at least in an official capacity. Royal commentators hold the opinion the public will see far less of the future King compared to previous generations. What do you think of the birthday portraits?

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One year on, Sir Marcus Setchell, the former royal gynaecologist who delivered Prince George spoke about the experience for the first time:

'You just keep reminding yourself that although it's very important, for the couple and the-about-to-be-born baby, it's just another healthy young couple giving birth to another, hopefully, very healthy baby.

 And I constantly reminded myself of that so that the pressures of the hundreds of media people outside the hospital didn't affect me, at least not more than minimally.' 

The Duchess attended Sir Marcus's retirement party earlier this year.

With George's special day almost upon us, a wide variety of articles looking at the Prince's first year and his future have been published. One particularly unexpected piece makes a shocking prediction. Diana's royal biographer Andrew Morton believes William will abdicate in favour of his son in time to come.

Speaking to The Sun he said:

'I think William will become the first King to do the job for several years but then abdicate. This could mean George is still relatively young when he takes over, which obviously mean he has a totally different life ahead of him.

 I'm not saying William has consciously planned this far ahead but I think this is how it will unfold. William never talked about his future in terms of his destiny or duty. He always talks about being king as a job, not a vocation or calling. '

It's quite a shocking prediction, one that will hopefully never come to fruition (one I cannot envisage). Perhaps, as William gets older a love for the role and all it encompasses will develop. It would now seem full-time duties are some time away, in fact, and I would predict not until Charles become king. Majesty Magazine's Ingrid Seward dismissed Mr. Morton's claims as "ridiculous".

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The Palace has confirmed The Duchess of Cambridge will visit Malta on 20 and 21 September to represent The Queen on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Malta's independence. The two-day trip will mark Kate's first solo overseas visit as a member of the Royal Family. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh lived in Malta during the early years of their marriage while Prince Philip was first lieutenant on board HMS Chequers. It is believed they were extremely happy there and no doubt Her Majesty will be very pleased to see Kate representing her in September.

The British Monarchy Flickr

We'll hear about the itinerary and more details in due course.

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In other news, it was revealed last week that Kate attended a two-week cookery course alongside popular television chef Rachel Khoo at the prestigious Leiths Cookery School - and passed with flying colours.

Rachel Khoo remained tight lipped about the Duchess but said:

'Kate was in my class. She was ill for a few days, so I took notes for her. She was a lovely person, but she kept to herself.'

The school has a reputation as a first-class culinary institute for chefs. Students come from all over the world to enjoy dedicated teaching and a friendly atmosphere. Interested amateurs like Kate enjoy perfecting new and much-loved dishes and learning some of the tricks of the trade, enabling them to add a professional touch to their own cooking at home. Courses usually cost around £1,600.

Leiths

A look at some of the school's popular dishes.

Leiths Cookery School

It is not known exactly when Kate took the course, but her sister Pippa also undertook one at a different cookery school. It looks as if they're both following in their mother's footsteps with a keen interest in cooking and preparing delicious family meals. The Duchess is said to be a keen cook and was photographed grocery shopping several times during the couple's time in Anglesey.

William and Kate are very rarely spotted out for dinner, and it is thought they prefer to host dinner parties for their closest family and friends at Kensington Palace, which boasts two kitchens. Kate had the existing 350 sq ft kitchen, originally designed by Princess Margaret's husband Lord Snowden, refurbished at a reported cost of £170,000. Courtiers stressed that the additional "private, family kitchen" was paid for by the couple's private funds.

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In tonight's fashion corner, we begin with news on the pink peplum Alexander McQueen ensemble Kate wore in Adelaide during the recent royal tour.

It was believed Kate was wearing a top and skirt at the time, however it turns out the garment is in fact a dress from the brand's Pre-Fall Collection. The Wool and Cashmere-Blend Dress is currently available at My Theresa for £1,985. It's partially lined with a zipped back, hook fastening and a flared skirt with high-low hem.

My Theresa

A closer look at the dress.

My Theresa

From the product description:

'Alexander McQueen lends a vintage theme to this pretty dress. Light pink fabric, reworked for a figure-sculpting silhouette, is given a feminine boost with a peplum waistband and draped detailing. 90% wool, 10% cashmere.'

It also comes in poppy red, a colour which suits the look and structure of the dress better than the soft pink, in my opinion.

Lane Crawford

Now that we've seen the piece properly, has your opinion changed? If I recall correctly it wasn't one of the most popular pieces worn during the tour.

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Finally we take a look at the The Mirror's offering George: The First Year. The £4.99 84-page commemorative magazine recaps George's first year from his first appearance at St. Mary's Hospital to his christening and the royal tour.

The Mirror

Sending Prince George the happiest of birthday wishes!