Yesterday Thursday 23 June, the first official painted portrait of Prince William and Kate Middleton was released. The portrait was commissioned by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund and is currently being displayed in the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, before travelling to the National Portrait Gallery next year.
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Who was the artist?
The painting was created by award-winning British portrait artist Jamie Coreth, which he saidwas 'the most extraordinary privilege of my life.' Coreth said he wanted to portray the Royal couple as 'both relaxed and approachable, as well as elegant and dignified.' He added, as reported by the BBC:
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.
What is Kate wearing?
In the portrait, the Duchess of Cambridge champions British design by wearing her metallic emerald Falconetti dress with ruffled sleeves and hem by The Vampire’s Wife, according to British Vogue. The Brighton-based brand was founded by British fashion designer Susie Cave, who is married to Australian musician Nick Cave.
Kate previously wore the dress for a trip to the Guinness factory in Dublin back in 2020. It has also been spotted on celebrities Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung, and Ruth Negga. This year, Kate wore a similar dress by the brand, the Light Sleeper in metallic pink (also featuring flouncy sleeves), on the couple's trip to Belize.
In the painting, Kate pairs her dress with matching emerald Hangisi heels, the iconic style by Manolo Blahnik made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City.
Read more:
⋙ Kate Middleton wasn’t at the State Opening of Parliament, this is why
⋙ Kate Middleton: Will her title change when Prince Charles becomes King?
⋙ Kate Middleton to go on more solo trips without Prince William from now on