New Prince George photo marks ninth birthday

A new photograph of Prince George has been released to mark his ninth birthday on Friday.

Wearing a light blue shirt, he is seen smiling in the photo, which was taken on a sandy shoreline by his mother the Duchess of Cambridge.

She captured her son's image on camera during a family holiday in the UK earlier this month.

Kensington Palace said Catherine and husband Prince William were "delighted" to share the snap with the public.

• Who's in the UK Royal Family and how does it work?

• Prince George photos mark seventh birthday

• KKate and William's decade of marriage in pictures

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge introduced George to the world on the steps of St Mary's Hospital in central London when he was a day old

Prince George Alexander Louis - known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge - was born on 22 July 2013.

He was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in central London and appeared in front of the world's media a day later, when Prince William and Catherine stood cradling him on the hospital steps.

George sat between his parents as Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios battled it out for the Wimbledon title

The Queen's great-grandchild has had a busy summer, pictured alongside his parents at the Wimbledon men's singles final and events celebrating the monarch's Platinum Jubilee.

A serious-looking prince at the Platinum Jubilee pageant

Laughing alongside dad at the Platinum Party at the Palace

George is third in the royal line of succession, meaning he will be king following his father, the Duke of Cambridge, and, before him, his grandfather, the Prince of Wales.

He will be the 43rd monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England in 1066.