Princess of Wales scores a major accolade – and it’s something she’s earned entirely on her own

The Princess of Wales is always doing something – but it’s usually part of her busy royal duties. However, Catherine is known to sometimes merge her own, personal passions with her official engagements. One such activity Catherine is known to favor and take pride in is her photography – and she’s just been awarded a huge accolade for a cover she shot of Queen Camilla.

• Catherine, Princess of Wales has been recognized for her photography skills by a noted association
• The Professional Publishers’ Association have awarded Kate the coveted Cover of the Year award for the portrait she shot of Queen Camilla
• In other royal news, why Prince William was 'not allowed' to hug special VIP guest during emotional investiture ceremony

While all the tiaras and jaw-dropping fashion is a benefit of being a royal, there’s no doubt that the likes of Kate Middleton are kept incredibly busy with their official engagements.

But every now and then, a working royal will get to do something that captures their own passion projects – like Kate Middleton proving she was queen of the tennis court last week with Roger Federer.

Another skill Kate is known to work at is her photography – and the stunning photos she takes of Prince William or her three children are often shared with fans on social media.

Kate is also patron of the Royal Photographic Society.

Now, the Princess of Wales is being officially recognized for her cunning behind the camera, and it’s an accolade voted for by many different people – meaning she’s really earned it all on her own merit.

The UK Professional Publishers' Association (PPA) announced on Friday, June 30, that the Princess’ portrait of now-Queen Consort Camilla (who was then the Duchess of Cornwall) earned its Cover of the Year Award.

Last summer, Kate's photograph of Camilla was featured on the cover of Country Life magazine, which was guest edited by Camilla. (In keeping with the celebratory news, it was also reported by Country Life that Camilla’s issue was their biggest-selling issue of all time).

The PPA shared the great news for Kate on social media, explaining that the prize was chosen by popular vote – it wasn’t just given to her to court favor, basically.

They wrote, “We're thrilled to announce that Country Life has won the Cover of the Year title at the PPA Awards, the 'Oscars' of the magazine world. The winning cover was this one from the 13 July 2022 issue, which was guest-edited by Her Majesty The Queen while she was Duchess of Cornwall.”

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all who voted — it's the only award voted for directly by readers — and also, of course, to HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales, who took the photograph!”

Sweetly, the Queen Consort was reported to have personally asked Kate take her photo, no doubt impressed by the Princess’ passion.

Country Life editor Mark Hedges explained how Kate got the job – and the initial confusion.

He described how Camilla said, “Oh, I'd quite like Catherine to do it.”

But, as many still know the Princess by her more informal name, Mark revealed, “I spent the next three or four minutes desperately racking my brains trying to think of a professional photographer called Catherine. Then, suddenly, I grasped what she meant — one of the most amazing things that could happen. I found it one of the easier things to nod my head at.”