Mario Testino is the royal portrait photographer of choice, but for the first official shots of Prince George, William and Kate chose to keep it in the family.

Photographs beamed around the world depicting the future king of England were taken by a proud grandfather in the family’s backyard. The photo credit on these images reads: Michael Middleton.

Mike and Carole were the first visitors to the Lindo wing of St Mary's hospital and their close relationship with their daughter has seen Kate spend her first weeks with the baby in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

In one of the photographs William has a consoling hand on Lupo, the cocker spaniel, who is no longer the couple’s sole pride and joy. "Catherine is very well… Lupo is coping,” William told CNN.

Ahead of the release of the first pictures, William said they were enjoying their first weeks of parenthood but confessed that George was a handful. "He's a little bit of a rascal, I'll put it that way," he said. "He either reminds me of my brother or me when I was younger, I'm not sure, but he's doing very well at the moment."

"He's growing quite quickly actually. But he's a little fighter -- he wriggles around quite a lot and he doesn't want to go to sleep that much."