Kensington Palace releases stunning portraits of Kate Middleton to mark her 40th birthday

Kate Middleton celebrates her 40th birthday on Sunday and in honor of the milestone, Kensington Palace has released three new portrait photos of her.

According to a press release from the palace, the photographic series was taken by Paolo Roversi at Kew Gardens in London last November.

All of the former Kate Middleton's portraits will become part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, also in London, and will be included in the institute's "Coming Home" project, which includes portraits of famous people in various locations. where they have close ties.

The project aims to give people across the UK the opportunity to see famous works in their own towns and cities.

During this year, new portraits of the Duchess will be displayed at three locations, which according to the release "hold a special meaning to Her Royal Highness".

They will be displayed in Berkshire in southeast England, St Andrews in eastern Scotland and Anglesey in north west Wales.

Each of these locations corresponds to a different chapter in the Duchess's life.

The Duchess was raised in Berkshire alongside her siblings, Pippa and James Middleton.

In 2001, she met Prince William while they were both students at the University of St Andrews.

Following the birth of Prince George in July 2013, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lived in a home in Anglesey while William served in Britain's Royal Air Force.

The daughter of a flight attendant and a flight dispatcher, Katherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on January 9, 1982, in Reading, England.

Now the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton has emerged as Britain's trusted royal.

After Prince Harry and Meghan moved to California in 2020, Prince Philip's death last year, and now sexual abuse allegations against Prince Andrew, former Kate Middleton remains in the public eye as a smiling mother of three, who What can comfort grieving parents is a children's hospice or wow the nation by playing the piano during a televised Christmas concert.

Katie Nicholl, author of Kate: The Future Queen, said: "This is the woman who was the common woman in the royal family to marry and who made no mistake, no embarrassment."

"It hasn't been an easy year, and yet somehow Kate seems like a beacon in all of this."

At a time when the House of Windsor is facing more than its share of controversy, Prince William's husband has drawn praise for his commitment to early education, the arts and music.

She supports the charity which is about her desire to be personally involved in their cause.

Olivia Marx-Woldman was touched by the care Kate cared for in photographs of Holocaust survivors Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein for an exhibition sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

Before shooting, the Duchess spent time learning the stories of her subjects and used the knowledge to create the photographs, said the trust's CEO, Marks-Woldmann.

"It was a really involved, thoughtful partnership," she recalled.

"But even after those photos were taken, the Duchess supported the project and took an interest in Steven and Yvonne and sent them Christmas cards, invited them to a carol service at Westminster Abbey recently and just been amazing "

Tracy Rennie, deputy chief executive of the Children's Hospice of East Anglia, has a similar account on the day Kate visited one of the organization's facilities in 2019.

The Duchess agreed to speak to the parents and other relatives of a child who had recently died because they wanted to meet her, even though their pain was still raw.

"It was actually a really helpful conversation, laughing and joking together as a family before we left - you wouldn't imagine being in such a difficult situation," Renee said.

"They felt absolutely honored that she took the time and were overwhelmed by the fact that she was a 'normal person' - their words, not mine.