First official portrait of Prince William, Kate unveiled
The first official joint portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has been unveiled in Britain.
The painting is the work of award-winning British portrait artist Jamie Coreth and was commissioned last year by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund.
“It’s quite big,” Prince William quipped on first viewing the 210-centimetre by 110-centimetre portrait of the couple on Thursday.
He quickly added a compliment, telling Coreth the painting was “amazing”.
The portrait shows the couple gazing into the distance, Prince William in a dark suit and blue tie and Kate Middleton wearing an emerald green dress from indie brand The Vampire’s Wife, which she first wore on a trip to Dublin in 2020.
Kate also wears the Cambridge pearl pendant brooch (a loaner from the Queen), Princess Diana’s pearl bracelet and pearl earrings.
The work will remain on display at the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum for three years before being shown in other Cambridgeshire community spaces and galleries .
It will also be loaned to the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 to mark the gallery’s reopening.
Coreth described the experience of painting the portrait as “the most extraordinary privilege of my life”.
“I wanted to show Their Royal Highnesses in a manner where they appeared both relaxed and approachable, as well as elegant and dignified,” he said.
“As it is the first portrait to depict them together, and specifically during their time as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I wanted the image to evoke a feeling of balance between their public and private lives.”
While it is the first official portrait of the Cambridges together, they have both previously featured in separate works. The first official portrait of Kate was in 2012, painted by artist Paul Emsley for the National Portrait Gallery. William has previously been depicted alongside his brother Prince Harry in a 2009 painting by artist Nicky Phillips.
After viewing the work on Thursday, the couple also met supporters of the project, including Coreth. They also met Lady Sibyl Marshall, widow of the late Sir Michael Marshall, who originally set the project in motion.
-with agencies
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