As she chose which portraits she would share to celebrate her 40th birthday this month, Kate Middleton took her husband’s advice Prince William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the photographer behind the royal photos, Paolo Roversi, explained the process that went into creating a more modern image of the Duchess of Cambridge. He revealed that her family helped her review all the photos taken in November at London’s Kew Gardens and make the final choice on which photos she should show to the public. Roversi explains that they eventually chose the close-up of Kate wearing a white dress, where she smiles at the camera with her hair swept behind one shoulder, a picture he says is “where a carefree girl returns.”
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The photographer added that each of the three portraits is meant to show a “different” side of the royal. The black-and-white image, in which she is depicted in profile, a classic pose in royal portraits, “is royal and has a maturity that goes beyond her age, and the white dress dampens the seriousness of an image.” Another portrait showing Kate in a red one-shoulder dress, on the other hand, is “a little more glamorous.” Above all, Roversi explains that he wanted to create a “modern” portrait of the Duchess using “only natural light, a little makeup and no hairstyle.”
He also teased that there are many more photos yet to be shared from their photoshoot together, including one of the royal dances. “Eventually I wanted to take pictures in motion, so with the wonderfully wide skirt I made her dance in front of my camera, a kind of accelerated waltz mixed with a pinch of rock’n roll,” Roversi said. Kate’s portraits will be on display in three places that have a special meaning for her during 2022 – Berkshire, St. Andrews and Anglesey – before eventually being added to the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. The portraits will also be part of the Gallery’s upcoming “Coming Home” project with portraits of famous people in places they have become closely associated with.
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