The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released Christmas photos of the future king of England, and boy, aren’t they cute.

Prince George, decked out in a sweater vest with Grenadier Guardsman design knitted across the bottom, navy knee socks and rosy cheeks poses for the camera in the courtyard at Kensington Palace.

Prince George, who is 17 months old, had his photo taken by a member of Prince William's staff in late November. Within an hour, the photos posted by Clarence House on Twitter had been shared more than 3,000 times, and "favourited" more than 4,000 times.

Twitter lit up, gushing over the cute baby boy.