Duchess Kate releases new photos to mark her 40th birthday

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 40th birthday by releasing three new photos Sunday.

According to BBC, fashion photographer Paolo Roversi took the portraits, all of which show Kate in Alexander McQueen dresses, and described the experience as a “true honor” and “a moment of pure joy.”

In the only color shot of the three, the duchess stands at an angle, the ruffled sleeve of her red off-the-shoulder dress covering one shoulder in the foreground while the other, left bare, blends into the gray background.

Her hands disappear into the folds of her dress as she smiles, her hair blowing in the wind and an earring borrowed from the queen sparkling on her right ear. The effect is one of casual, almost sporty vivacity.

The unsaturated color scheme Roversi employed leaves little contrast between the future queen consort’s skin and the background, making her dress and chestnut hair pop all the more.

One of the two black-and-white shots is a close-up, shot with a slight blur that gives the duchess’s features a soft, youthful luminescence and makes her pearl earring, which once belonged to Princess Diana, glow fuzzily in the midst of her hair like a small point of fairy light.

Again the ruffled shoulder of her dress — a white one this time — draws the eye, and again, Kate smiles, though this time with more intimacy and warmth. She could be teenager in love who just opened the front door to behold her prom date.

The final shot shows Prince William’s wife of 10 years in profile, and this time her mouth is set. A different white dress, tied with simple bows at the shoulders, leaves her collarbone bare. The bows trail off into long white ribbons, one of which she clasps between her fingers as it falls over her skirt. Her hair cascades down her back, exposing the same pearl earring from the close-up and accentuating the line of her throat.

The portrait seems almost Victorian. She looks every inch the future queen — stoic, strong, and confident.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 40th birthday by releasing three new photos Sunday. According to BBC, fashion photographer Paolo Roversi took the portraits, all of which show Kate in Alexander McQueen dresses, and described the experience as a “true honor” and “a moment of pure joy.” In the only color shot of the three,…

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 40th birthday by releasing three new photos Sunday. According to BBC, fashion photographer Paolo Roversi took the portraits, all of which show Kate in Alexander McQueen dresses, and described the experience as a “true honor” and “a moment of pure joy.” In the only color shot of the three,…