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Kate Middleton Honored by Royal Photographic Society for Her Family Photos
The decision has proven to be divisive among the British public.
Lorena Muñoz-Alonso
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The year in all things Royal has started off with a bang: the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) has given an honorary lifetime membership to Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, for her family portraits and tour photos.
According to the BBC, Michael Pritchard, RPS’s Chief executive, said the institution had chosen to honor Middleton for her “long-standing” interest in photography, praising her “talent and enthusiasm” with the camera.
Meanwhile, the Duchess said she was “very pleased” to receive the honor, the Daily Mail reports.
The accolade has proven to be divisive among the British public, with many taking to social media to express their disagreement with it.
Although she began taking photographs regularly before having children, it seems that motherhood has brought Middleton’s photographic talent to the fore. The Duchess’ love for art is well documented, and she majored in art history at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where she met Prince William.
The Duchess took the first official photograph of Princess Charlotte when she was born in 2015, and she has released a number of family photos, including Prince George’s first day at nursery school and Princess Charlotte’s first birthday.
Middleton has found an unexpected ally in Jonathan Jones, the controversial and contrarian art critic of the Guardian, who surprised many earlier this week by declaring that “her pictures are good” and “full of love.”
Jones also claims that the Duchess “excels at photography in the only way most of us all ever can: by looking at what she loves,” and then goes on to compare her to Kim Kardashian and Sebastião Salgado, in a somewhat discombobulating trio.
A more worthy point in his article, perhaps, is the allusion to the RPS history, the organization was founded in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London, changing to its current name in 1854 after receiving Royal patronage from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The institution has, thus, always had a close bond with the Royal Family, which this latest accolade awarded to the Duchess of Cambridge confirms.
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