| Advertisement |
June 23 (UPI) -- British royals Prince William and Kate Middleton recently posed for their first official joint portrait. The duke and duchess of Cambridge attended the unveiling of the painted portrait Thursday at the University of Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum.
Advertisement
The painting was commissioned in 2021 by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund as a gift to the couple's namesake region of Cambridgeshire. The portrait was painted by British artist Jamie Coreth.
"It has been the most extraordinary privilege of my life to be chosen to paint this picture," Coreth said in a statement. "I wanted to show their royal highnesses in a manner where they appeared both relaxed and approachable, as well as elegant and dignified."
"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," he added. "The piece was commissioned as a gift for the people of Cambridgeshire, and I hope they will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed creating it."
The portrait depicts Middleton wearing an emerald green dress by The Vampire's Wife, while William sports a dark suit and blue tie.
In addition, Coreth honored Cambridge by using tones and colors found in many of the city's historical stone buildings in the painting's background, as well as a hexagonal architectural motif.
William and Middleton married in April 2011 and have three children, Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. William is the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and second in line to the British throne after his father, Prince Charles.
