One of the official portraits of the Royal family released one day after the christening of Prince George. Photo: Jason Bell/Camera Press/Redux

Britain’s Prince George will take part in his first official overseas tour at the age of just eight months in April when he accompanies his parents on a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Prince William and his wife Kate, joined by Prince George, will arrive in Wellington, New Zealand on April 7 for a three-week trip ending in the Australian capital Canberra on April 25, the couple’s office said in a statement.

With his parents keen to shield him from too much media intrusion, the world has had few glim­pses of third-in-line to the throne since his birth in July last year.

The trip, Kate’s first visit to both countries, will see the young prince follow in the footsteps of his father William, who at the age of nine months accompanied his parents on an official tour of Australia and New Zealand in March and April 1983.

A spokesman for the royal couple, known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, said a nanny would be joining them on the trip.

The tour will include events to celebrate Australia and New Zealand’s success in technology, tourism, sports and art, the couple’s office said, along with ceremonies to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.