Story highlights Britain's Prince William and Kate have released the third official portrait of Prince George 
 
 The photo shows George with his parents at their London residence, Kensington Palace 
 
 The 8-month-old is traveling with his parents to New Zealand and Australia in April 
 
 It is unclear which of their engagements he will be present at during their tour 
 
 Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released a family photo with their son Prince George, a week ahead of their official visit to New Zealand and Australia. 
 
 It is just the third official official release of photos of Prince George and shows him with his parents aged eight months at their home in Kensington Palace, London. 
 
 The Duke of Cambridge, the second in line to the throne, is pictured with his wife and son looking out of an open window. The smiling duchess, 32, is holding Prince George on her knee as he focuses his attention on the family pet Lupo, a black cocker spaniel pictured sitting on the duke's lap. 
 
 Catherine is wearing white, while William, 31, looks relaxed in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. George sports a light blue jumper with his name written on it, over a white collar. 
 
 The picture was taken by photographer Jason Bell, who also took the official photos for Prince George's christening, last October. 
 
 The family will be in New Zealand and Australia from April 7 to 25 but it's unclear what opportunities the public in both countries will have to glimpse the youngest royal in person. 
 
 "George being just a little over eight-months-old by the time they travel, I'm sure you will appreciate that the couple will have to make a final decision on those moments much closer to the time." 
 
 Prince George's first official photo was taken by his maternal grandfather, Michael Middleton . It showed Prince William and Catherine -- the latter holding Prince George swaddled in a white blanket -- on the lawn of her parents' home in Berkshire. 
 
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 New Zealanders may be hoping their country provides the backdrop for an updated version of that photo during the royal tour, after all, Prince William was recorded taking his first steps on the lawn of Government House in Auckland on his first visit, in 1983. 
 
 Royal itinerary 
 
 The Duke last visited New Zealand after the devastating 2011 earthquake in Christchurch. On this trip, the royal couple will visit the city together and stop to remember the 185 people killed. 
 
 As well as being Prince George's first visit Down Under, his mother Catherine will be making her debut. 
 
 "There's no hiding the enthusiasm for the visit by both the Duke and the Duchess. The Duke, because he has been before; and the Duchess because she has never been to either country but has wanted to do so as long as she can remember," Kensington Palace said in its earlier announcement. 
 
 The pair may not always be in complete agreement on their trip, however. 
 
 Kensington Palace said the Duke and Duchess were "just a little competitive" and some of the events on the itinerary will pit husband against wife. 
 
 The royal couple will board separate Team NZ America's Cup yachts for some informal racing in Auckland and coach rival teams in "rippa" rugby, a non-contact version of Rugby Union, in the South Island city of Dunedin. 
 
 A century after the outbreak of World War I, the tour will also see William and Kate paying tribute to both countries' war dead and visiting military bases. 
 
 Their last day will be April 25 -- ANZAC [Australian and New Zealand Army Corps] Day, which originally marked the landing of soldiers from both nations at Gallipoli, Turkey, in 1915. In the eight-month campaign fought there, 2,721 New Zealanders and 8,709 Australians died, before the allied forces withdrew. The day is now a tribute to those who have died in all conflicts. 
 
 The Duke and Duchess will plant a seed from a pine tree at the site of the battle at the Australian War Memorial in Australia's capital city, Canberra, before returning to London. ||||| Image copyright Jason Bell/Camera Press Image caption The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George will begin the tour in New Zealand 
 
 An official photograph of Prince George with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has been released ahead of their tour of Australia and New Zealand. 
 
 The eight-month-old is pictured in his mother's arms while Prince William holds their dog, Lupo. 
 
 In the image, taken by royal christening photographer Jason Bell, the family is looking through an open window at their Kensington Palace home. 
 
 The Cambridges are due to arrive in New Zealand on 7 April. 
 
 They then fly to Australia on 16 April and their three-week tour ends on 25 April. 
 
 First tour 
 
 In the new image, the blond baby prince is wearing a pale blue jumper bearing his name, while his mother wears a cream-coloured blouse and his father a shirt with rolled-up sleeves. 
 
 Prince George, who is third in line to the throne, is not looking directly at the camera like his parents - instead, he is smiling at the black cocker spaniel next to him. 
 
 Other than a glimpse of the curtains, little of the Cambridges' renovated Kensington Palace home can be seen in the photograph. 
 
 It is the first official picture of Prince George to be released since his christening last October. 
 
 The visit to Australia and New Zealand will be his first official overseas tour. The trip echoes the Prince and Princess of Wales's visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1983 when the couple took William, then aged nine months, with them. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Prince George was christened at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London, in October 
 
 The tour will begin in Wellington, where the Cambridges will be greeted with a ceremonial welcome to New Zealand, called a Powhiri in Maori. 
 
 They will see a yacht race, visit a rugby stadium and a vineyard, and there will also be Maori engagements in Christchurch and Dunedin. 
 
 During their time in New Zealand, they will attend a ceremony in Blenheim to recognise the sacrifice of members of the Australian and New Zealand armed forces in the First World War. 
 
 There will be a similar commemorative ceremony in Canberra, Australia. 
 
 Their Australian itinerary includes visits to Uluru in the Northern Territory, as well as Sydney and Adelaide. 
 
 The duke and duchess will also visit an area of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, that was hit by bushfires last October. 
 
 Their 11-strong entourage includes Prince George's new nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, and a hairdresser. 
 
 Celebrity photographer 
 
 Prince William has made a number of official trips to Australia and New Zealand in the past, but Catherine is yet to pay an official visit to either country. 
 
 The couple passed through Brisbane airport on their way back to the UK at the end of their South Pacific tour in September 2012, however. 
 
 The duke had paid an official visit to New Zealand and Australia in March 2011. He went to Christchurch shortly after it suffered an earthquake and also visited Queensland and Victoria, which had been hit by floods. 
 
 It is the third joint official trip abroad for the duke and duchess, following a visit to Canada and the US in July 2011, shortly after they were married, and their South Pacific tour. 
 
 Before taking official photographs following Prince George's christening at St James's Palace, Bell was known for his celebrity subjects. 
 
 His images from the christening included one of the young prince with his father, grandfather Prince Charles and great-grandmother, the Queen.
– Ahead of their Australia-New Zealand tour next week, Prince William and Kate Middleton have released an official family photo that includes their now 8-month-old bouncing baby boy, reports the BBC. Prince George, who will accompany the royal couple on their trip beginning next Monday, is pictured being held by his mother in an open window at the royals' residence in Kensington Palace; William and the family pooch, Lupo, are at right in the image the palace says was taken by George's christening photographer, Jason Bell. As for the youngest royal's official duties on the Australia-New Zealand trek, well, it's up in the air, as per a palace statement via CNN: "George being just a little over eight months old by the time they travel, I'm sure you will appreciate that the couple will have to make a final decision on those moments much closer to the time." They will head out with an entourage of 11, notes the BBC, including a nanny and hairdresser.