His Royal Cuteness: Prince Louis' First Birthday Photos!

William and Kate's baby is one! To mark the first birthday of Prince Louis tomorrow, Kensington Palace released three photos taken by the Duchess earlier this month. My goodness, he has changed so much since we last saw a photo of him for the Cambridge Christmas card. He's a gorgeous little boy, and very much like his siblings, has such an expressive face. I've noted several times I think he favours his mum, the likeness in these photographs is really quite striking.

Kate chose the garden of their leafy country home, Anmer Hall, as the backdrop for Louis' birthday photos. Louis is dressed in a red jumper and a similar blue one featuring a puppy on the front. Those Cambridge cheeks :)

The Palace said: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share three new photographs of Prince Louis ahead of his first birthday tomorrow."

More from The Telegraph's senior picture editor, Lee Martin.

'The Duchess of Cambridge’s photographs of Prince Louis, like other birthday pictures of her children, are a loving and personal moment captured on camera for the family album and the history books. You can employ a number of styles to portraiture and the Duchess has chosen the simple method of using natural light and a shallow depth of field. She has used both perfectly.

Placing Louis in a shaded area so that he is illuminated by diffused light avoids any harsh shadows across his face, while at the same time producing a bright colourful background. Because she has used a wide aperture, she has softened the background to a gentle blur, helping to isolate the subject and avoid distractions. She also avoids placing Louis directly in the centre of the landscape image, which is a definite plus in my book.'

Rebecca English notes Louis wore the £35 Trotters Little Puppy Jumper. It's described as: "Our bestselling Puppy Jumper for baby boys now comes in a smart denim blue colour and features our sweet puppy intarsia design on the front. Made in a soft, warm cashmere mix it's a must have for layering this spring."

Prince George's first birthday portraits were taken at the Natural History Museum by John Stillwell and Princess Charlotte's in Norfolk by Kate.

On a sunny St George's Day morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their third child on 23 April 2018. It all began shortly after 8 am when Kensington Palace confirmed the Duchess had been admitted to the Lindo Wing at 6 am in "the early stages of labour". Kate travelled from the Palace by car with William. At 1.05 pm, the Palace confirmed the Duchess had been safely delivered of a son weighing 8 lbs 7 oz at 11.01 am.

A few short hours later, Kate was ready to depart for home. As with George and Charlotte, they posed on the steps of the Lindo Wing to introduce their son to the world. Kate was undoubtedly feeling a mixture of emotions from sheer joy to exhaustion as she held her baby in her arms. She chose a bespoke Jenny Packham red dress with a white lace peter pan collar.

The newborn, fifth-in-line to the throne, was the first in history not to overtake a female sibling in the line of succession. The Telegraph noted: "Under the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, the male-preference primogeniture was replaced with absolute primogeniture. The act meant any royal born after 28 October 2011 would precede his or her siblings, regardless of sex. It means Princess Charlotte remains fourth in line to the throne with the new (male) baby at fifth in line."

Our first proper look at the prince came on 5 May when the Palace shared two photos to provide a glimpse at Louis and to celebrate Charlotte's birthday. This image of big sister Lottie kissing her brother is darling.

And this one :)

Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge was baptised at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, on 9 July.

The occasion marked the first time the Cambridges had been publicly seen together as a family of five.

The intimate christening was attended by the Charles, Camilla, the Sussexes, Middletons and godparents. The couple chose Kate's cousin Lucy Middleton and close friends Nicholas van Cutsem, Guy Pelly, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Laura Meade and Hannah Gillingham. Kate couldn't take her eyes off Baby Louis at the christening and was photographed gazing lovingly at him in several of the images.

The portraits were taken at Clarence House's Morning Room following the christening at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, by renowned photographer Matt Holyoak. The photographer said "I was truly honoured at being asked to take the official photographs at the christening of Prince Louis, and to witness at first hand such a happy event. Everyone was so relaxed and in such good spirits, it was an absolute pleasure. I only hope I have captured some of that joy in my photographs."

The Palace released an additional photograph of Kate and Louis with the message "Their Royal Highnesses hope that everyone enjoys this lovely photograph of Prince Louis as much as they do." The photo was taken by Matt Porteous, the photographer took George's third birthday portraits.

There was a very special treat in store among Prince Charles' 70th birthday portraits; a fabulous photo of the Prince of Wales with Kate and Louis. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Duchess of Cornwall revealed: '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."

Louis had changed so much since his christening. Those expressions :)

There was a festive royal surprise from Kensington Palace in December with the release of a new family photograph of the Cambridges for their Christmas card. The image was taken last autumn at Anmer Hall and offered our last look at a smiling Louis.

His Royal Cuteness on the front pages.

Happy Birthday little prince!