Kate Middleton birthday portraits' tour to make sweet nod to Prince William

The stunning photos from the Duchess of Cambridge's 40th birthday will be shown at three very special locations

Kate Middleton portraits tour to make sweet nod to William
(Image credit: Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Kate Middleton will make a sweet nod to Prince William with her exciting 40th birthday portraits tour. 


The Duchess of Cambridge's birthday portraits will go on tour as part of an exciting new initiative—and there are even a couple of sweet tributes to Prince William waiting on the itinerary. 

Kate Middleton's 40th birthday in January was celebrated with the release of three beautiful photographs of the future Queen, much to the excitement of her adoring royal fans. 

The stunning snaps, which were taken by fashion photographer Paolo Roversi in November, will now be displayed at venues across the UK for members of the public to appreciate in the flesh—completely free of charge. This decision has been made in support of the National Portrait Gallery's Coming Home project, which sees portraits of high-profile individuals sent to places that have links to them. 

The first stop on the tour will be Kate's childhood county of Berkshire, where her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, still reside. 

From 22 March to 5 April, Roversi's photo of the Duchess looking to the left will be displayed at St. James the Less, a small church in the riverside village of Pangbourne. It will then head to the Reading Museum, a stone's throw from Kate's birthplace of Royal Berkshire Hospital, where it will be exhibited from April 7 until June 4. 

With the Duchess' early life covered, the destination of the next photo pays tribute to her late teens and young adulthood. 

The portrait of Kate wearing a red Alexander McQueen dress will be sent to Wardlaw Museum at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she received an undergraduate degree in art history in 2004. It also happens to be the place she and Prince William first met, and ultimately, fell in love. The romantic image will be shown between June 13 and September 30, giving royal fans plenty of time to catch a glimpse. 

Kate and William graduating

The tour will include a tribute to Kate and William's meeting place, the University of St. Andrew's 

(Image credit: Getty)

The couple's relationship was also the inspiration for the venue of the third photo, which features Kate in a ruffled, one-shoulder white dress. 

The black-and-white snap will be shown at the Oriel Môn museum on the island of Anglesey, where Kate and William lived together after getting married in 2011. It's understood the newlyweds rented a four-bedroom farmhouse at the Welsh vacation spot for two years, while the Duke worked as a search and rescue helicopter pilot RAF valley. They left Anglesey in 2013 after the birth of their first son, Prince George, to move into the far more spacious Kensington Palace in London.  

Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.


Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.