LONDON — Three new photographs of the
British royal Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were released by
Kensington Palace on Saturday to mark her 40th birthday.
The soft-focus portraits by veteran Italian fashion
photographer Paolo Roversi will go on tour around Britain this
year before being added to the permanent collection of the
National Portrait Gallery, of which Kate is the patron.
Kate joined the royal family in 2011 when she married Prince
William, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and the second in line to
the throne, in a glittering ceremony believed to have been
watched by hundreds of millions across the globe.
One of the photographs shows a profile of Kate looking off
to the side in a white gown similar to a wedding dress, while
her sapphire engagement ring – formerly worn by William’s
mother, Princess Diana – is prominently on display.
Another – the only one of the photographs in color – shows
Kate in a red gown turning towards the camera with a broad
smile. The third photograph shows Kate in a frilly white top,
again smiling at the camera.
The three photographs, which have neutral, non-descript
backdrops, were all taken in November at the botanical gardens
in Kew, west London, Kensington Palace said.
The portraits will go on tour to Berkshire, southern
England, where Kate grew up; St Andrews, Scotland, where Kate
met William at university; and Anglesey in Wales, where the
couple lived while William served as a helicopter
search-and-rescue pilot at a Royal Air Force base on the island.
Polls suggest that the future king and queen, who have three
children of their own, are now the most popular royals behind
the 95-year-old monarch.
According to media reports, Kate will celebrate her landmark
birthday on Sunday with just family and close friends because of
the current wave of COVID-19 which is spreading across the
country fueled by the Omicron variant.
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