Keeping it in the family! Duchess Camilla is celebrating her upcoming 75th birthday with a new cover for Country Life magazine — and Duchess Kate was there to help capture the moment.
In the new issue, which will be published on Wednesday, July 13, the Duchess of Cornwall, 74, is photographed in the garden of her Wiltshire home. A second shot shows Camilla taking a stroll through her garden in Raymill with forget-me-nots. While Kate, 40, took the photos, Camilla also edited the magazine for Country Life’s 125th anniversary.
Ahead of its release, editor Mark Hedges recalled asking if Camilla had any thoughts about who should photograph her for the cover.
“She immediately replied, ‘Oh I’d quite like Catherine to do it.’ I spent the next three or four minutes desperately racking my brain trying to think of a professional photographer called Catherine,” he said, according to The Telegraph. “Then suddenly I grasped what she meant — one of the most amazing things that could happen. I found it one of the easier things to nod my head at.”
The official Instagram account for Clarence House offered a glimpse at Kate taking Camilla’s photo. In the snap, which was published on Tuesday, July 5, the Duchess of Cambridge kept it casual in jeans and sneakers as she leaned in for the perfect shot.
“Commissioned by The Duchess of Cornwall as guest editor, Her Royal Highness invited The Duchess of Cambridge to capture the cover image at her home in Wiltshire, Raymill,” the caption for the social media upload read.
Hedges also reflected on feeling “thrilled” with the final images that came from the collaboration. “We understand this is the first time a formal portrait of The Duchess of Cornwall has been taken by The Duchess of Cambridge for a magazine,” he said in a statement. “And we are honored to have been chosen to be the first to publish this beautiful photograph. The photographs are superb and we would be delighted to offer The Duchess of Cambridge another commission!”
Kate’s newest photography venture comes after the royal has captured everyday moments in her family’s life. The U.K. native, who shares Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, with husband Prince William, previously opened up about her children’s reaction to her taking photos of them.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Mummy, please stop taking photographs!’” she told fellow mom photographer Ceri Edwards in a video for her Hold Still project in June 2021.
Meanwhile, Camilla’s birthday celebration comes shortly after Queen Elizabeth II announced her hope that the title Queen Consort be given to Prince Charles‘ wife when he takes the throne.
“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me,” the monarch, 96, said in a statement in February. “And it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
