Meeting the world at less than a month old! Monaco's royal twins make first public appearance in the arms of their adoring parents

Proud parents: Princess Charlene and Prince Albert smile at each other as they show their twins off to the world for the first time

Kiss from mummy: Princess Charlene bends down to kiss her baby son's head as Prince Albert waves to the crowds outside

They might be less than a month old but Monaco's royal twins, Prince Jacques Honoré Rainier and Princess Gabriella Thérèse Marie, have made their first public appearance.

Carried onto a balcony at the Palais Princier in Monaco at precisely 11.45am by their delighted parents, the twins were met with an adoring cheer from the locals who had gathered outside the palace to see them.

Their mother, Princess Charlene, 36, smiled and waved as she clutched baby Jacques, while husband Prince Albert, 56, was every inch the proud father as he cradled Gabriella in his arms.

All smiles: The royal couple looked smitten with their adorable new babies who were born on the 10th December by caesarean section

The babies were born within minutes of each other, with Gabriella arriving first at 5.04pm and Jacques following at 5.06pm. The births were greeted with cannon fire and an excited outpouring of joy from locals, who flocked to the square outside the Palais Princier to celebrate. 

Despite being the younger, it will be Prince Jacques who succeeds his father on the throne, thanks to Monaco's continued use of Salic law which states that male heirs always take precedence over their older sisters.

She does, however, get a title, becoming the Countess of Carlades, while Crown Prince Jacques is styled Marquis of Baux - a name always given to the first born son.

The first glimpse of the babies came 13 days later, when a set of five photographs of the newborn royal babies and their proud parents was released by the Palais Princier on the 23rd December.

Delighted: Charlene showed off an elegant new hair cut and wore a cream cocoon coat for her first public appearance since November

In love: Charlene has spoken of how she is 'crazy in love' with her two babies, who will be one month old in three days' time

Crowds: The royal couple waved delightedly at the crowds from the balcony, with Charlene turning to kiss her son at one point

Heirs: Albert smiles as he looks at his wife, who has given birth to the future ruler of Monaco - Prince Jacques

Looking good: Charlene was elegant in a cream coat and pearl earrings while Albert wore a dark grey suit and a matching cream tie

Matching: The twins were wrapped in white blankets that matched their mother's coat and their father's tie

Glamorous: A white-gloved Princess Charlene beams at the crowd as a smiling Prince Albert looks on delightedly

Finally home: The twins spent their first two weeks in hospital before being brought home to the Palais Princier on Boxing Day

The festive photographs showed a smitten pair of parents gazing at their newborn children, with Princess Gabriella wearing pink and Prince Jacques sporting baby blue.

In one, both babies are seen being cradled by their delighted mother, while another shows Charlene holding little Gabriella while Albert clutches his new heir, Prince Jacques. 

The birth of the twins has put an end to one of Europe's longest running dynastic sagas with Prince Albert's apparent disinclination to marry and have legitimate heirs forcing his father Prince Ranier to make a rare change in the law in the run-up to his death in 2005.

Although Albert has two other children Jazmin, 22, and Alexandre Coste, 11, neither are eligible to inherit the throne of Monaco because they were born out of wedlock.

Had no legitimate heir have been born to Albert, Monaco would have been absorbed into France, a fact that forced Prince Ranier to make alternative succession plans that would have seen his daughters' children take over.

Happily for the principality, Albert went on to marry South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock in 2011 with whom he has now produced not one but two legitimate heirs.

Should anything happen to the twins and their parents, Albert's eldest sister, Princess Caroline, would inherit with her sons Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi next in line. 

Overwhelming: Prince Albert soothes a crying Princess Gabriella as her smiling mother looks on

Success: Prince Albert's ministrations appear to have the desired effect - much to the relief of both parents

Until next time: Prince Albert waves at the crowd one last time as the couple prepare to take their tiny children back inside the palace

Thrilled: Below the balcony, a flag waving crowd had gathered to see the babies - and greeted their appearance with a loud cheer

Elated: The square outside the Palais Princier was crammed with Monégasque people eager to see the newborn twins

Cheers: People waved national flags and carried balloons in patriotic red and white for the occasion

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Excitement: The appearance of the babies (just visible in the window) prompted excited cheers from locals

 

Baby's first photo: This photo of the new royal twins was released as part of a set on the 23rd of December 

'I'M CRAZY IN LOVE WITH THEM!' PRINCESS CHARLENE TELLS OF HER 'INSTANT BOND' WITH THE TWINS

Less than a week after they were born, Princess Charlene gave her first post-birth interview in which she told of her joy at the arrival of her adorable twin babies.

Speaking to French magazine Paris Match, the 36-year-old said she is 'crazy in love' with the twins and added that spending time with them is 'magical'.

'What I can tell you is that they are both very active and very expressive,' she continued. 'They are beautiful, adorable, I'm crazy in love with them.'

She also told of the moment the children arrived and admitted to some nerves over the health of the babies whom, she revealed, arrived two weeks early. 'At first, I was happy to hear their first cries,' she said. 'I was obviously a bit overwhelmed with emotion.

'Every second with them is magical. I look forward to spending more time in their presence.'

The babies, who came home for the first time on Boxing Day, were welcomed into the world by a 42-cannon salute, while their birth certificates were signed by a proud Prince Albert during a ceremony at the Palais Princier.

The ceremony, which took place two days after their birth, was also attended by Albert's sister Princess Stephanie and saw 20 witnesses descend on the court to watch the certificates being signed.

But no one has spent more time with the twins than their mother, who says she has developed a 'strong bond' with the twins during her lengthy stay at the Princess Grace Hospital with them.

'I think a very strong protective instinct in me was born in the same time [as the twins],' revealed a delighted Charlene. 'A strong bond unites us, they are my responsibility in the coming years.'

She also says she plans to raise the twins with the values shared by the Monégasque royals and described the prospect of bringing up her children as an 'exciting mission'.

'I will do my best to guide them, raise them and send them the values ​​that my husband and I share,' she said. 'This is an exciting mission and we will give the best of ourselves to achieve it. For now, we are enjoying every moment.'

Delighted: Since the birth, Princess Charlene has spoken of being 'crazy in love' with her newborn babies 

Heirs: They are the first children for the 36-year-old former South African Olympic swimmer, who married Prince Albert II, 56, three years ago

Smitten: Charlene has said every second spent in the twins' company is 'magical' and that she instantly developed a strong bond with them 

Newborns: The tiny babies were delivered by caesarean section on the 10th December at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco 

The babies are the first twins to be born to the Grimaldi dynasty, which dates back to the 13th Century

The glamorous couple pictured before the arrival of the twins at (l-r) at a dinner at the Opera Terraces following their religious wedding ceremony in July 2011 in Monaco, dancing during the 63rd Red Cross Ball at the Sporting Monte-Carlo in August 2011 and at a dinner for foreign monarchs to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee at Buckingham Palace in London in May 2012

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROYAL TWINS... AND WILL THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE BE NEXT?

With an average of 3.5 sets of twins born per 1,000 pregnancies, an instant family of two babies - even royal ones - isn't unusual, although British royal families have only ever produced one set.

Unique: King James II of Scotland is the only monarch in British history to have been born as part of a set of twins. He was the second son but his older brother Alexander tragically died aged just one year old

Born to King James I of Scotland and his wife Joan Beaufort in 1430, Alexander and James were the first and only set of twins born to British royal parents.

Tragically though, Alexander, the eldest of the two, died before reaching one - with his younger brother later taking the throne of Scotland as James II. Later, during his marriage to Mary of Guelders, James sired no fewer than seven children, although none were the result of multiple births.

Despite the lack of British royal twins, odds have shortened on another set of royal twins - belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - being born.

Should that be the case come April, the older of the two will become the official 'spare' to Prince George regardless of sex following a change in the law ahead of George's birth in 2013.

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 received royal assent on the 25th April the same year and ended a 2,000-year-old tradition that saw the throne pass to the monarch's oldest male heir, with girls only being considered should no boys be available.

Nevertheless, the UK has produced several queens, among them Elizabeth I, famous for marshalling the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Queen Victoria, who remains the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Elsewhere, twins are more common with the most famous historical pair born to Egypt's Queen Cleopatra and her Roman lover, Mark Anthony. 

Sadly, Alexander Helios is thought to have been killed shortly after his mother was toppled, although his sister, Cleopatra Selene, went on to marry King Juba II of Numidia, a kingdom that is now part of Tunisia and Algeria, and had two children of her own.

Other historical royal twins include Princesses Louise Élisabeth and Henriette of France, who were born in 1727 to King Louis XV and his queen, Marie Leszczyńska.

More infamous was Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse who was born alongside his twin Wolfgang in November 1896. Philipp, who was head of the house of Hesse, went on to join the Nazi party and became Governor of Hesse-Nassau. 

After a falling out with Hitler in 1943, he was sent to a concentration camp where he remained until the prison was liberated by American troops at the end of the Second World War.

Take two: Queen Cleopatra (right) and her Roman lover Mark Anthony were parents to twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene

Modern royals: Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik (right) and Princess Mary had twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine in 2011

Modern royal twins include another set of German siblings, 18-month-olds Carl Friedrich and Louis Ferdinand who were born to Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia and his wife Princess Sophie of Isenberg in 2013.

Others include Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine of Denmark, who were born to the country's Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary in 2011.

Oldest of the current batch of royal twins are the five-year-old Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy, and Prince Alphonse, Duke of Berry, who were born to Prince Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou and his wife María Margarita Vargas Santaella in 2010.