It's a Family Affair for Prince Charles' 70th Birthday Portraits

Ahead of Prince Charles' 70th birthday tomorrow, the Palace released a fantastic pair of photographs to mark the milestone. We very much hoped to see family photographs with George, Charlotte and Louis, and I was delighted to see relaxed portraits of the Wales family to mark the occasion. Official images tend to be largely formal, so the choice of a shot depicting the future king with his family, taken in the gardens of Clarence House in September, made for a delightful choice.

The images were taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson, a firm favourite of the Cambridges. He has been commissioned to take private family photos for the royals before, including Prince George's first day of school. He is married to Kate's assistant Natasha Archer. I love the navy/white colour coordination between the group.

The photos capture wonderful 'moments' of Charles holding George on his knee, Camilla with her arm around Charlotte and of course our first proper look at adorable Louis since the christening. Those Cambridge cheeks :)

Rebecca English reports Louis wore the £72 Carlina Boy Ceremony Set from La Coqueta. Made in Spain, it is described as: "This ceremony set has us dreaming of garden parties and reasons to dress up. What makes the Carlina boy ceremony set exceptional is its simplicity - crisp white cotton with peter pan collar, and dusty blue hand-stitched smock detailing."

In the post for the christening, I wrote that I thought Louis favours his mother. Now he's a little older, I'm convinced that's the case. Looking at the children, George reminds me so much of Michael Middleton, Charlotte of the Queen and Louis of Kate.

We had a teaser from the shoot on Thursday when a photo of Kate holding Louis and Charles was shared as part of a BBC documentary marking the Prince of Wales' birthday. The image made the cover of this week's Hello! magazine.

In an interview with the Telegraph, the Duchess of Cornwall revealed more about the photoshoot:

"He’s wonderful with children. He doesn’t mind crawling about on the floor for hours with them. We had a picture the other day with Louis pulling on his hair, and he’s not one of those people who says ‘take your hand away’. He loves it. He’s exceptionally good with very small children and babies."

To mark the birthday, Charles allowed unprecedented access as he opened his homes, Clarence House and Highgrove, to Google's Street View. Viewers can take a 'virtual tour' of several rooms at the residences, affording a detailed look at art, furnishings and interiors. Click here to take a tour of Clarence House.

It also offered a closer look at family photographs on display including a previously unseen portrait of Charles holding George at his christening in 2013. Wishing the Prince of Wales a very Happy Birthday!

Kate wore the Alessandra Rich Pleated polka-dot silk crepe de chine midi dress. The £1,225 piece is described: "Alessandra Rich was inspired by Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 photograph of a sailor kissing a stranger in Times Square for her Spring '18 collection. Capturing the essence of that iconic moment, this vintage-inspired dress is cut from polka-dot silk crepe de chine that falls to a pleated midi skirt." As several of you noted, Abigail Spencer wore the dress to the royal wedding in May.

 Kate accessorised with her sapphire and diamond earrings.

We have a very busy royal day tomorrow. William and Kate will visit South Yorkshire. In Rotherham they will officially open McLaren Automotive’s new Composites Technology Centre before travelling to Barnsley’s local Centrepoint hostel. After lunch, the Duke and Duchess will visit Centrepoint’s new Andy Norman Learning Hub. That evening, it's back to London for Prince Charles' birthday party at Buckingham Palace. A host of European royals are attending the glittering event. Hopefully a portrait or two will be released from the night.