The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been captured on canvas together for the first time.
The painting of William and Kate, by Jamie Coreth, was commissioned by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund, held by the Cambridge Community Foundation, as a gift to the people of Cambridgeshire.
It was revealed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge as the couple paid a visit to the city.
The portrait shows the couple in front of an imagined background inspired by Cambridge. Jamie Coreth said he chose the tones of many of the historic buildings in the university city for the surround as well as the hexagonal architectural motif used across Cambridge.
There is another nod to Cambridge and its royal links. Kate wears a brooch first owned by another Duchess of Cambridge – Augusta, who married Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, a son of George III. Adolphus and Augusta’s granddaughter, Queen Mary, inherited the brooch and passed it on to her own granddaughter, The Queen.
The portrait will stay at the Fitzwilliam for three years where it will form part of a project to help young people across the county to get involved in and enjoy art.
Jamie Coreth said ”‘It has been the most extraordinary privilege of my life to be chosen to paint this picture.”
The artist, who graduated from the Florence Academy of Art and who won the prestigious Young Artist Award at the BP Portrait Exhibition in 2016, added ”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.”
The Duke and Duchess saw the portrait as it went on public display at the Fitzwilliam during their visit to Cambridge.
