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Prince George celebrates his fourth birthday with a new official portrait

Prince George of Cambridge turns 4 on Saturday basking in the glow of his third popular overseas tour and a slew of new pictures of the royal tyke.

<p>Prince George turns 4 Saturday. (Photo: CHRIS JACKSON, AFP/Getty Images)</p>

Prince George of Cambridge turns 4 on Saturday basking in the glow of his third popular overseas tour and a slew of new pictures of the royal tyke.

To mark his birthday, his parents, Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge, released a new official portrait late Friday, taken at Kensington Palace at the end of June.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share a new official portrait of Prince George to mark His Royal Highness's fourth birthday tomorrow," Kensington Palace said in a statement Friday.

The statement added that Will and Kate "are very pleased to share this lovely picture as they celebrate Prince George's fourth birthday, and would like to thank everyone for all of the kind messages they have received."

Birthday pictures of the royal children, including George's sister, Princess Charlotte, who just turned 2, have become a tradition for the Cambridges. For previous official portraits, amateur photographer Duchess Kate did the honors in snapping George at play or with his then-baby sister.

This time, the birthday portrait was taken by Chris Jackson of Getty Images, one of the regular royal photographers, who married Kate's stylist, Natasha Archer, in May.

Photos: Watch Prince George grow

Jackson has been snapping away this week on the Cambridge tour of Poland and Germany, which wraps up Friday.

George and Charlotte have been seen and photographed during their airport arrivals and departures, adding to the growing pile of photos of the children, who have been seen only rarely until this year.

RELATED | Prince George's most hilarious pictures during the royal tour

Already in 2017, George and Charlotte have been spotted at public events, such as the Trooping the Colour parade in June and at their Aunt Pippa Middleton's wedding in May where they served as page boy and bridesmaid.

The Poland/Germany tour was the second overseas tour for the two children; in October, the family of four toured British Columbia for a week in western Canada. George also accompanied his parents on a three-week tour of New Zealand and Australia in 2014, when he was about 8 months old.

To see more photos from the royal tour, check out the gallery below.

Photos | Royal Wedding: Prince William and Duchess Kate

Photos | Royal kids look adorable on trip to Canada

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