- Title: Britain's Prince George celebrates 8th birthday
- Date: 21st July 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - APRIL 23, 2018) (REUTERS) PRINCE WILLIAM WALKING TOWARDS ST MARY'S HOSPITAL WITH PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AND PRINCE GEORGE
- Embargoed: 4th August 2021 11:45
- Keywords: British royal family Duchess of Cambridge Prince George Royal baby William and Kate
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Royals
- Reuters ID: LVA00TEMSZ0AV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Britain's Prince George, third-in-line to the throne, turns 8 on Thursday (July 22).
He was born on 22 July, 2013 amid a huge international media frenzy outside the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London.
Just a day old George Alexander Louis was carried out by the proud parents to meet the press on July 23 and the crowd cheered wildly as Kate handed over the bundled up baby into the arms of Prince William.
William told reporter he was "Very emotional" and the Duchess said it was a "special time".
The first official photos of Prince George were released a month later. Instead of the more traditional formal pose for George's first official photo shoot, the couple released a snap taken by the duchess's father, Michael Middleton, in the garden of her family home in Berkshire.
The couple are sitting on a picnic blanket with Kate holding a sleeping Prince George. With them is their beloved black cocker spaniel, Lupo, while the Middleton family's golden retriever, Tilly, lolls at one side.
On October 23, three-month-old Prince George was christened in a private low-key service at Chapel Royal inside St James's Palace. The venue was a break with royal tradition, which normally sees high-ranking royal christenings take place in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. The Chapel Royal was where Princess Diana's body lay before her funeral.
It was a busy first year for baby George.
In April 2014 the royal couple and their then eight-month-old son arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, to begin a 10-day tour of New Zealand.
Prince George mingled with ten other babies and their parents during his first public engagement after his christening. He took center stage at the Government House in Wellington as he crawled confidently and happily among other children, while his mother Kate watched on.
It was then onto Australia for the young family, where George performed his first official duty on a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
The future king of England helped to unveil a plaque commemorating the dedication of the Prince George Bilby Exhibit. The prince appeared fascinated by a bilby in an enclosure nearby.
Kensington Palace released a still photograph of Prince George visiting the "Sensational Butterflies" exhibit at London's Natural History Museum to mark his first birthday and to celebrate Christmas photos of the toddler were taken of him sitting on steps in a courtyard at Kensington Palace.
When George was almost two years old, on May 2, 2015 his sister, Princess Charlotte was born and he delighted the crowds of well-wishers and photographers by waving to them on the steps of the Lindo Wing in his father's arms.
At Charlotte's christening at a church on the Sandringham, the cheeky toddler was seen peering into his sister's pram before running away down a grassy bank, forcing William to chase off after him.
In August the royal family criticised paparazzi for what it called their increasingly dangerous attempts to photograph George. Kensington Palace said photographers had followed the two years and his nanny around London parks and police had discovered one hidden in a blacked-out car outside a children's play area visited by the prince.
William and Kate have tangled with the media before over the paparazzi's tactics and have said that they want their children to be able play in public without being photographed.
To satisfy the huge public demand to see pictures of the young royals, the Duke and Duchess periodically release a few snaps.
To celebrate Christmas 2015, Kensington Palace released a family portrait of the Duke and Duchess with their two children.
On January 6, 2016, the two-and-a-half year old Prince George started nursery school at the Westacre Montessori School nursery in Norfolk, east England, close to Amner Hall where the family live.
In March the young family went on a secret ski-ing trip to the French Alps. One photographer was invited along, but the pictures only released after the royals arrived back in the UK.
George got a taste of his father's life as he visited a military air show in July 2016. The youngster met pilots from Britain's Red Arrows display team and got to sit inside a helicopter and plane.
Prince William, served as an RAF helicopter pilot with its search and rescue force before switching to flying for an English air ambulance unit.
On September 7, 2017, 4-year-old George started school at Thomas's Battersea school in southwest London. A nervous-looking George, wearing a school uniform of dark shorts and a navy jumper with red trim, held his father's hand as the Head of Lower School, Helen Haslem, escorted the royal duo to his classroom. His mother Kate missed the occasion due to acute morning sickness.
On April 23, 2018, Prince George's brother Louis Arthur Charles was born. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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