New photos of Princess Charlotte released on her birthday

Princess Charlotte's birthday has been marked with the release of three new photographs of the young royal which were taken by her mother, Duchess Catherine.

The youngster turns four on Thursday and her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were "very pleased" to make public a selection of images taken by Duchess Catherine at Kensington Palace and their Anmer Hall home in Norfolk.

In one picture, Charlotte - who is fourth in line to the throne - wore a blue flower-print dress and sat cross legged on the grass at Kensington Palace.

The young princess wore the same grey cardigan, checked skirt and black tights in the other two pictures, with one featuring her sitting on a fence, while in the other she is seen running and smiling as she clutched a flower in her hand.

The images were shared on Catherine and Prince William's Twitter account on Wednesday night along with the caption: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share three new photographs of Princess Charlotte ahead of her fourth birthday tomorrow.

Photos: Reuters

"The photographs were taken in April by The Duchess at Kensington Palace and at their home in Norfolk."

The release of the pictures comes a week after the royal couple showed off Catherine's photography skills again when they shared new images of their youngest son, Prince Louis, to mark his first birthday.

The tot's two bottom teeth could be seen as he grinned broadly for the camera in the adorable pictures.

When they were shared on Instagram, Louis' aunt and uncle, Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, used the comments to wish him a happy birthday.

They wrote: "Happy Birthday Louis! Sending lots of love from both of us xo (sic)"

William and Catherine's other son, Prince George, turns six in July.

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