New photos released of Prince William and Kate

Two new official photographs of Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton, taken by Mario Testino, were released Sunday to mark their wedding next April.

One portrait is an intimate close-up of the prince hugging his bride-to-be, while the other shows the two 28-year-olds in a more formal pose, standing side by side in the red carpeted council chamber of St James' Palace in London.

Peruvian-born Testino, who was responsible for some of the most enduring photographs of William's mother Princess Diana, said the young couple were clearly "brimming with happiness" in the shots.

They were taken on November 25, nine days after the couple announced they were finally tying the knot after an eight-year romance. The wedding has been set for April 29 next year, at Westminster Abbey in London.

"I am very happy to have been asked to cover this historic moment that the whole world was waiting for," said Testino, who has taken many family shots of the prince, his brother Harry and his father Prince Charles.

"They are in their prime and brimming with happiness. I have never felt so much joy as when I see them together."

The formal image shows a smiling William and Kate standing close together with Kate resting her left arm on the prince's -- giving a full view of the engagement ring that once belonged to Diana.

She is wearing a white dress from high street retailer Reiss, while he is wearing a dark suit, blue tie and white shirt from Turnbull and Asser.

via ca.news.yahoo.com