ComScore

This New Kate Middleton Portrait Contains a Special Nod to Her College Years

If you consider yourself an expert on the British royal family (or if you're simply an avid reader of PureWow), you most likely already know that Kate Middleton is dipping her toes into the publishing business. And while yesterday we were focused on the sweet tribute to Princess Diana the Duchess of Cambridge included in her announcement, today we’re focusing our attention on a nod to her college years.

ICYMI: The 39-year-old royal launched an initiative in response to the coronavirus pandemic last year. The project, titled Hold Still, was an effort to "help capture the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the U.K." with photos taken by people across the United Kingdom. The campaign received 31,598 submissions and 100 portraits were selected as finalists and featured in a digital exhibition. Earlier this week, Middleton revealed that that the finalists will appear in a book published by the National Portrait Gallery.

The mother of three made the announcement in a heartfelt post on Instagram alongside a stunning portrait of herself. In the image, which was taken outside of the duchess’s Anmer Hall home in Norfolk, Middleton dons a gorgeous red sweater over a white pie-crust collar (a look Princess Di often rocked throughout the ’80s). However, she also included one major detail in the image that was a nod to her college years—a camera.

Aside from the fact that the venture is centered around photography, once upon a time the duchess was a photography student at the University of St. Andrews. And although she did not pursue a professional career in the field—and instead opted to become a working member of the royal family—she expresses her natural talent through projects like this one and acting as her family’s photographer. So, the inclusion of the camera also seemed to pay tribute to that part of her life.

We can’t believe we almost missed this nostalgic connection.

Get every breaking royals story by subscribing here.