Prince Louis showed off rainbow-painted hands in new photos to mark his second birthday.

The royal toddler - who is the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - turned two on Thursday (22.04.20) and to mark the occasion, a set of new photos taken by his mother have been released showing the tot having fun while creating a colourful piece of art.

The photos were published on Prince William and Duchess Catherine's Twitter account on Wednesday (22.04.20) evening along with the caption: ''Sharing a sneak peek of Prince Louis's handiwork ahead of his second birthday!

''We are pleased to share images ahead of Prince Louis's second birthday tomorrow, taken by The Duchess this April.''

Louis wore a gingham shirt in the photos and seemed very pleased with both his rainbow-coloured hands and the large handprint poster he'd produced.

The artwork is topical because rainbows have become a symbol of hope and appreciation for key workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, with many children displaying their pictures in the windows of their homes.

Meanwhile, Louis' mother, Duchess Catherine, recently spoke about how much she enjoys doing arts and crafts with the tot and his siblings, Prince George, six, and Princess Charlotte, four.

She said: ''Those moments that you spend with people that are around you. I remember that from my own childhood. I had an amazing Granny who devoted a lot of time to us, playing with us, doing arts and crafts and going to the greenhouse to do gardening, and cooking with us, and I try and incorporate a lot of the experiences that she gave us at the time into the experiences that I give my children now.''

Catherine also revealed she is passionate about spending time outdoors with her kids.

She added: ''As children, we spent a lot of time outside and it's something I'm really passionate about. I think it's so great for physical and mental well being and laying [developmental] foundations. It's such a great environment to spend time in, building those quality relationships without the distractions of 'I've got to cook' and 'I've got to do this'. And actually, it's so simple.''