Kate Middleton’s special informal role in royal family revealed

The Duchess of Cambridge may be a full-time senior working royal as well as a mother-of-three, but she appears to have another very informal but special role within The Firm – family photographer!

Kensington Palace often shares photos to mark the Cambridges’ milestones, such as birthdays, and more often than not the pictures are taken by Kate herself, especially when it comes to photographing her three young children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

But it seems Kate is also the designated photographer for the wider royal family.

Last week in memory of Prince Philip, Buckingham Palace released a heartwarming image of the Queen and her husband with seven of their great-grandchildren at Balmoral Castle. The Duchess took the beautiful family shot, which showed the royals enjoying a summer break in Scotland.

Around the same time, Mike Tindall also posted a gorgeous photo of his eldest daughter Mia with Prince Philip. Taken on the porch of a log cabin, the picture showed Mia chatting away while her great-grandad sliced some food and also enjoyed a beer. Mike credited his cousin-in-law Kate for taking the photo.

Kate is clearly at ease photographing her husband Prince William and their children as she often takes their official birthday portraits, as well as other familial events like Father’s Day and first days of school. But it seems she is also comfortable photographing her wider family judging by the latest released snaps.

Early in the pandemic in 2020, Kate also launched the Hold Still photography competition encouraging members of the public to document their lives in lockdown. Hold Still attracted 31,000 entries from photographers of all ages last May, with 100 final images later chosen to appear in a digital exhibition as well as in community exhibitions across the UK.

The photos were also turned into a book that went on sale for £24.95, with proceeds to be shared between the mental health charity Mind and the National Portrait Gallery, of which Kate is patron.

One of her go-to photographers Matt Porteous, the man behind several official portraits of the Cambridges, spoke to HELLO! earlier this month praising the Duchess for her skill.

“Catherine is an amazing photographer, we have both shared tips on location and talked about light, settings and styles,” Matt said. “Catherine has an amazing eye for photos so will always point us in the right direction for light and backdrops.”

He added: “Catherine has an incredible eye for style, she knows what will look best in these scenes which makes my life easy.”