Intimate snapshots of '¨Charlotte for birthday

The four new pictures offer an intimate snapshot of how the young princess has grown up during her first 12 months.

The young Royal was introduced to the public on the day of her birth, May 2 2015, and like her brother, those first images of the tiny infant were captured by the world’s media.

She was named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in tribute to her grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales and her great-grandmother the Queen.

Charlotte’s privacy has been carefully guarded by her family and during the past year she has only been seen in public on one other occasion, her christening.

On that day George stole the limelight when he stood on tiptoe to peer into her pram and chatted to the Queen, who bent down to speak to her great-grandson.

Charlotte has only been seen in a handful of pictures to mark events like six months after her birth, her first Christmas and most recently in a group picture with the Queen’s other great-grandchildren and youngest grandchildren to mark the monarch’s 90th birthday.

A spokeswoman for William and Kate said: “The Duke and Duchess are very happy to be able to share these important family moments and hope that everyone enjoys these lovely photos as much as they do.”

The pictures were revealed as two new portrait photographs of the beaming Duchess of Cambridge went on public display.

Kate is shown looking casual and relaxed in the pictures, taken in the Norfolk countryside earlier this year, in a marked departure from more formal official images of the Royal Family.

The photos, taken by British photographer Josh Olins, will hang in the National Portrait Gallery, where Kate has been a patron since 2012. The Duchess will visit the gallery on Wednesday to view the photos, Kensington Palace said.