The holidays are about love and family and nothing says that more than the photo released by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Prince William, on their social media accounts on Christmas Day. The snap features the children -- Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- with their father, who plants a kiss on his youngest child.
According to Kensington Palace on Twitter, the image was taken by the duchess while the family was in Norfolk early this year. The whole family, however, are with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family for Christmas in Sandringham, Her Majesty's country estate.
Earlier, a photo of Prince William and Kate with the kids was also shared online by someone who received their Christmas card. It had the whole family posing beside a vintage motorcycle with a sidecar.
These images reflected how Prince William and Kate are raising their kids as normal as possible despite their royal status and Prince George's destiny as the third in line to the throne. Both photos show the family in their most relaxed environment with the kids looking like actual kids who play on the grass and dress for comfort.
According to the Independent, Prince William and Kate reaped praises for the "natural-looking" family photo and Christmas card. Royal fans also praised the duchess for her skills in photography.
In 2015, Duchess Kate started the tradition of releasing the family photos she took instead of using official photographers. In the past, the royal family would hire esteemed professionals to capture the portraits for release during milestone birthdays and other special events.
Among her treasured photographs includes Prince Louis' first birthday portrait, released in April 2019, Princess Charlotte's fourth birthday and Princess Charlotte kissing her newborn baby brother. Kate also took her children's first day of school photos, as well as Prince George's first photo with baby Charlotte, which started the tradition.
According to Arthur Edwards, the royal veteran photographer for over 40 years, Kate has a knack for taking good portraits. She knows how to use natural light and frames her subject. She can also capture the amazing emotions of her children quite well.
Kate is an honorary member of the Britain's Royal Photographic Society (RPS), where she later became the patron as handed down by Queen Elizabeth. She has also been recognized for her interest in history and historical images. In 2018, Kate had a hand in curating Victorian photos for an exhibit at the Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
