Prince George grins on the beach in photo taken by Duchess of Cambridge to mark ninth birthday

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

The third in line to the throne smiles on a beach in an image captured by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, earlier this month.

George is wearing a polo shirt and grinning by the shoreline in the UK.

Kate is well-known for taking snaps of her children to mark their milestones.

She is a keen amateur photographer and in 2017 accepted a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society, which recognised her "talent and enthusiasm".

The young prince has attended royal and sport events in recent months.

Over the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June, George appeared with his siblings Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four.

The trio appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the fly-past and then sat in the royal box with their parents during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant before appearing again on the balcony.

George and Charlotte also made a surprise visit to Wales in June as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

And Prince William and Kate took their eldest son to the men's Wimbledon tennis final nearly a fortnight ago where he held the trophy won by Novak Djokovic.

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Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London at 4.24pm on 22 July 2013, weighing 8lb 6oz.