SKI- MAD ROYALS CHILL OUT ON THE NURSERY SLOPES
SEE ALL THE ADORABLE PICTURES FROM THEIR HOLIDAY
WRAPPED up warm, Prince George and Princess Charlotte enjoy their first proper chance of playing in the snow on a family skiing trip to the French Alps.
Flurries may have fallen at Anmer Hall, their 10- bedroom Norfolk home but the real thing, several feet deep, proved much more fun for the future king and his sister and their parents.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a famously competitive streak and there were no holds barred in a royal snowball fight.
Struck in the chest by his wife, Prince William, 33, was determined not to be caught out a second time and a few minutes later was playfully grappling with Kate, 34, and knocking a snowball out of her hand.
Prince George, who will be three in July, and 10- month- old Princess Charlotte were wrapped up in smart new snowsuits.
The couple invited along the Press Association news agency’s royal photographer, John Stillwell, to capture their happy holiday moments last week.
It was, according to their office, their first overseas holiday as a family of four.
They arrived in the Alps on Wednesday night and the following day, when the pictures were taken, George had his first experience of snow play.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “It was a very special and fun short holiday for the family and they are grateful that John Stillwell was able to capture the moment so well. The Duke and Duchess hope people enjoy the photos.”
Prince George’s blue outfit was a bargain £ 24.99 from Mountain Warehouse and Charlotte’s cream number, complete with attached mittens, a faux- fur trim around the hood and tiny animal ears on top, costs £ 28 from John Lewis.
William, a keen skier since childhood, was wearing a £ 330 blue and black Spyder ski jacket while Kate opted for a decadeold white E and O jacket she has worn on previous winter break.
It was the first holiday the Cambridges, who have fiercely attempted to control media coverage of their lives off duty, have invited a photographer since their marriage in 2011.
William is thought to have gone on his first skiing holiday in April 1991 when he was eight.
He went to Austria with Princess Diana and a then six- year- old Prince Harry during a half- term break.
Kate is a long- time skier. She and William’s relationship was first made public on a skiing holiday in Switzerland in 2004.
The holiday was a welcome break from their official duties. William, an air ambulance pilot, has undertaken four official royal engagements so far this year and Kate has completed six.