By George, our future king is growing up fast

As the future King of England prepares to celebrate his first birthday, many will struggle to believe that the image of this lively, rosy-cheeked toddler enjoying the new-found independence which comes with walking unaided is the same tiny newborn who fit so snugly in his mother’s arms outside hospital when he first appeared to the world those 12 months ago.

The photograph, which has been released by Clarence House ahead of his first birthday tomorrow, was taken at during a family day out with proud parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge earlier this month.

Press Association photographer John Sitwell was the man who captured the candid shot of Prince George as he frolicked in the Sensational Butterflies outdoor exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum.

Mr Stillwell said: “Prince George was very lively and very sure of himself and confident - a very determined young boy.

“When you have children yourself you don’t realise they grow up in such a short space of time, it’s always other people saying how big they’ve grown.

“So having seen him soon after he was born and at his christening three months later, he’s now gone from a baby at his christening to a toddler, that’s the biggest change.”

The news that Prince George is a natural in front of the camera will come as no surprise to the public, who have watched him grow before their very eyes. In April, he stole the limelight from the Duke and Duchess when he joined his parents for a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand. Dressed in a nautical-inspired navy polo and dungarees ensemble, it is clear his mother’s eye for fashion extends to the wardrobe her only child. But it is his fair hair, swept to one side, and sturdy little limbs which make him the image of his father.

Today’s portrait continues the recent tradition of photographs of members of the Royal family on their first birthday.

An image of one of a one-year-old Prince William playing with his mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Government House in Auckland, New Zealand back in 1983 was published around the world.

Charles’s sister, the Princess Royal, was photographed to mark her first birthday on August 15, 1951 showing a smiling Anne is sitting on the lap of her mother, the Queen, and her older brother completes the family group.

“Who does he look like? I’d have to say his dad, William,” said Mr Stillwell.

The release of the royal snap is a stark contrast to the secrecy which shrouded his first days. The Duchess gave birth to a son weighing 8lb 6oz at 4.24pm on July 22, 2013, but the news was not announced to the waiting world until four hours later. Prince George’s proud parents emerged from the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in central London a day later to show their baby off to the world’s media.

The Duke and Duchess are expected to host a birthday party at their apartment in Kensington Palace tomorrow. Prince George’s great-grandmother the Queen is expected to be among the guests.

A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said: “The family are marking it privately with close family and friends at Kensington Palace.”