Held in a loving embrace, the latest addition to the Royal Family receives a gentle kiss from his older sister Charlotte to wake him from his peaceful slumber.

And in a second photograph, the pink-cheeked Prince Louis looks much more alert as he takes in his new surroundings at Kensington Palace.

The touching snaps – taken by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, and released yesterday – are the first glimpses of the Prince since he was taken home from St Mary’s Hospital where he was born 13 days ago.

They strongly resemble those that the Duchess, 36, took of Princess Charlotte as a newborn, when she was cradled by her older brother Prince George.

The new images show Charlotte, who was three on Wednesday, immediately warming to her big-sister role, resting baby Louis in her lap and instinctively placing a protective arm around him.

Read more on dailymail.co.uk