Duke and Duchess of Cambridge photographed with Prince George off-duty may spark privacy row

The couple are expected to view the photographs as a breach of privacy

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George of Cambridge holding toy bilby at the unveiling a plaque, opening the Bilby enclosure during a visit to at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are on a three-week tour of (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince George have been photographed in Australia during a day off from official engagements, in what is likely to be seen as an invasion of privacy by the Royal Family’s aides.

Images thought to be taken by an Australian paparazzo show Kate walking in the grounds of Government House at Yarralumla in Canberra. In another photo, George is being carried on his mother’s shoulders, pushed in a buggy, and sat playing on his mother’s lap.

The Duke and Duchess were also photographed without their knowledge walking hand in hand along the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin at Government House.

It is unclear yet how the family will react to the photos. Earlier this year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were warned by a legal expert not to “cherry pick” which privacy cases they pursue, after a paparazzi photo of Prince George was published in Hello!.

The couple previously sought redress through the French legal system after topless photos of the Duchess were published in French Closer magazine in 2009, when she was not married to Prince William.

At the time, the couple said the Closer images were a “grotesque and totally unjustifiable” invasion of privacy.

On Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess will continue their tour of Australia without their son, when they will visit the iconic Uluru rock formation, which is a sacred site for the area's Aboriginal people.

The world-famous landmark stands almost 350 metres high and is more than two miles long and a mile wide.