The duchess wanted to show off her “sense of relaxed fun” instead of a formal or glamorous side
She has featured on millions of front pages around the world but the Duchess of Cambridge is now a true cover girl – after posing for her first ever fashion shoot.
Kate, 34, agreed to sit for British Vogue and a National Portrait Gallery exhibition marking the style mag’s centenary.
The pictures were taken in the open air at Anmer Hall, Norfolk, the home she shares with Prince William, 33, and children George, two, and Charlotte, one.
In one shot she is leaning casually on a gate in a red and black striped Petit Bateau top. In others she is beaming in a vintage felt hat and Burberry jacket and shirt.
Kate also wears the diamond and sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana, who appeared on the cover of Vogue three times.
A spokesperson for The Duchess of Cambridge said: “The Duchess had never taken part in a photography shoot like this before. She hopes that people appreciate the portraits with the sense of relaxed fun with which they were taken.”Alexandra Shulman, Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue commented, “To be able to publish a photographic shoot with HRH The Duchess of Cambridge has been one of my greatest ambitions for the magazine.”
The Royal Family are no strangers to being photographed by the world’s best fashion photographers – the Queen was recently pictured in separate images with her beloved corgis and the royal children by Annie Leibovitz for her 90th birthday.
And Kate has been known to go behind the lens, including one photo showing a proud Prince George kissing his then newborn sister Princess Charlotte.