Princess Alexandra of Denmark; Kate Middleton.Photo: Alamy Stock Photo; Paolo Roversi/Handout/Kensington Palace via Getty Image
Kate Middleton’s 40th birthday portraits are a royal blast from the past.
Italian photographer Paolo Roversi got behind the camera in November at London’s Kew Gardens to capturenew photos of Kate, three of which were released over the weekend to celebrate the Duchess of Cambridge’s milestone birthday. Royal fans were quick to draw comparisons between the portraits of Kate and photos of royal queens and princesses of the past.
Both the style and Kate’s ensemble are reminiscent of a June 1864 photo featuring Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who went on to become the Princess of Wales and Queen consort to King Edward VII following the death her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, in 1901. From the sepia tones to the off-the-shoulder white gown featuring bow sleeves, Kate clearly took some inspiration from the 19th-century shot.
In fact, Kate did her final dissertation at St. Andrews University (where she metPrince William!) on Victorian photography when she was studying art history in college. She alsoselected several images and wrote the forewordto the exhibition catalogue for “Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography” at London’s National Portrait Gallery in2018.
“This period in the history of photography has long interested me,” Kate wrote ahead of the exhibit in 2018. “As a student at the University of St. Andrews, I chose it as the subject of my undergraduate thesis.”
Kate Middleton on her 40th birthday.Paolo Roversi
Princess Margaret.Bettmann Archive
Beaton often photographed the royal women in profile, and even their gowns feature a similar neckline.
“She looks incredibly beautiful and glamorous, but there’s also a really personal element to it, not only with the royal family references but also with her own personal interest in photography and her studies in the history of art,” says Bethan Holt, fashion news and features director forThe Telegraphand author ofThe Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Royal Style. “There are references to the photographers that she has studied in the past such as Julia Margaret Cameron and Lewis Caroll. It’s tying together her personal interests with the weight of the royal family history.”
“I think the comparison with the Queen Mother is really interesting because she was the last person really that was the wife and mother of a monarch and she really dedicated her life to supporting her husband and then her daughter and Kate will be doing the same with William and George,” Holt tells PEOPLE.
The Queen Mother.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
“I think there was a huge resemblance to the Cecil Beaton pictures that were taken of the Queen Mother in the late 1930s and I think there’s a lot of comparisons to make with those time periods when there were a lot of the seismic changes going on with the royal family and in the world, just like today. I think they offer reassurance that we can still remain excited about the future of the royals, that it’s not all going to crumble,” she continues.
Princess Elizabeth.AFP via Getty Images
The Duchess of Cambridge’s new photos will be displayed over the course of 2022 in three places that hold special meaning to Kate: Berkshire, St. Andrews and Anglesey.
Can’t get enough ofPEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
Kate grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire, and often returns to spend time with her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, who still live in the quiet village.
St. Andrews is an important spot for both Kate andPrince Williamas they met as freshmen at the University of St. Andrews in 2002.
source: people.com
