THE DUCHESS of Cambridge is the most photographed woman in the world, but now she plans to display her own skills with a camera. Mandrake hears that Kate is considering staging an exhibition of her photographs in aid of the charities of which she has become patron.
“Photography is a great passion for the Duchess and she continues to pursue it avidly,” a courtier says. “It is a real release for her and she takes it very seriously.”
Kate, who will be on her own for the next six weeks as the Duke of Cambridge carries out his controversial tour of duty in the Falkland Islands, is understood to be working on her portfolio.
“She knows a lot of photographers and bounces her work off them,” says the courtier. “She would like to continue to develop her work privately before being subjected to that kind of public scrutiny, but an exhibition in the next few years is an idea she would be keen on.”
Her charities could stand to receive thousands of pounds should she decide to raise funds by selling copies of her photographs. She and Prince William are due to move from their small cottage at Kensington Palace into Princess Margaret’s former apartments next year. The palace has several new exhibition spaces which could provide the perfect showcase for her works.
Kate wrote her university dissertation on Lewis Carroll’s photography. During the couple’s tour of Canada and California last year, she was often seen with her camera. In 2007, she curated an exhibition of “celebrity” portraits by Alistair Morrison at a London gallery. “She is very, very good, and it shows,” he said. “She takes beautiful, detailed photographs.”
Before marrying the Prince, she worked for her parents’ mail-order business, Party Pieces, where her roles included catalogue design and photography. The Prince of Wales, an accomplished watercolourist, is understood to be encouraging her ambitions.