ROYAL DADS:

The delightful photos taken by the Duchess of Cambridge to celebrate Father’s Day offer a rare glimpse of family life behind palace walls, writes Juliet Rieden.

heartwarming family photos of Prince William and Prince Charles taken for Father’s Day

The Duchess of Cambridge has been taking photos of her family for official release since 2015. But two new posts of portraits to celebrate Father’s Day in the UK – which also coincided with Prince William’s 38th birthday – capture unique family moments of joy, as well as matching the professionals in their composition.

The first set were snapped in lockdown at home at the family’s country pile, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk. They show Prince William and the couple’s three children (all left), Princes George, six, and Louis, two, and Princess Charlotte, five, rolling around in a stacks-on with their father, and then posing together on a rustic wooden swing.

The swing was actually a 2011 wedding gift from William’s father, Prince Charles, and has ‘William and Catherine’ engraved on the seat.

It’s a beautiful shot, perfectly framed but still very natural, with Prince George on the verge of giggles as he stands tall behind Dad, holding onto the swing’s rope for balance.

The photograph is a long way from the more stilted, formal, set-up shots we regularly see of the royals, and the additional two shots of

Daddy Will playing on the grass with his offspring couldn’t be further from the official royal album.

With Mum behind the lens, the Cambridge children look totally at ease; there’s none of the rabbit-in-headlights anxiety we’ve seen in the past with photos of young royals. Instead, it feels as if we are being afforded a gentle window on their family world.

Next came a photo of Prince William and Prince Charles (below) – again released for Father’s Day – which was also put out on the Clarence House social media sites. It shows father and son as we’ve never seen them before.

Duchess Catherine snapped the shot of her father-in-law and husband back in December. They were out on the grounds of Sandringham Estate on a chilly winter day. The Prince of Wales is tucking his head into the nape of his eldest son’s neck, while William, who is head and shoulders taller than Prince Charles, puts his arm around his 71-year-old dad. This is a photo that speaks volumes about the warm and loving relationship between the men, who will both – if all goes to plan – one day be king.

Of course, there is a narrative behind these images: here are the next three generations of the House of Windsor, the Royal Firm in harmony. But they are also intimate photos of family life joining the national celebration for dads. AWW

“We are afforded a gentle window on their world.”