Photos of the Royal Family—some previously unseen—are currently on show at Kensington Palace.
Palace curator Claudia Acott Williams spoke to Us Weekly about the meaning of photography for the royals, including Kate Middleton, who contributed three photos of her children to Life Through a Royal Lens.
"The Duchess of Cambridge is a very good photographer," Williams told the publication. "She has started releasing her own photographs of her children as a way of sharing their progress with the public. … By releasing her own photographs, she’s kind of maintaining an element of control and privacy for them."
The duchess releases photos of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on their birthdays and other occasions, which she has taken herself—a somewhat novel strategy for a royal.
"That’s unusual," Williams said. "That’s an intimacy that we don’t often get. It creates a unique perspective. It is very clever. It really allows the public in in a very intimate way, while still allowing them to maintain the privacy of family life."
Middleton studied art history while at the University of St. Andrews, and reportedly inherited her love of photography from her grandfather, so she really puts a lot of thought into her art.
"You can see in the quality of her images that it’s clearly something that she has studied and honed," Williams added.
The exhibit, which is on in London until October, goes as far back as the era of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
"The Royal Family have continuously embraced the evolving technologies and evolving ways of sharing their images," Williams said. "I think there’s an understanding which was started with Prince Albert back in the 1840s that this technology is going to be a key tool in their relationship with the world and that it will shape the role and purpose of monarchy. I certainly think that is something they will continue to embrace in the future." I'm sure she's right.
