During a royal trip to the Netherlands, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge took time out of her busy schedule to visit the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague.
Princess Kate toured the museum with director Emilie Gordenker and saw one of the finest collections of Dutch Masters paintings in the world, including works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and others. “The Duchess seemed to particularly enjoy seeing The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius,” Gordenker told the Daily Mail.
According to the Washington Post, Middleton also visited an exhibition of Old Masters paintings on loan from the British Royal Collection, which included Vermeer’s The Music Lesson (1662–65). “She asked a lot of questions about the presentation of the paintings” Gordenker added. “Although she is familiar with a lot of the Queen’s paintings, she has never seen them in this setting before, which gives them a different context.”
Onlookers reportedly cheered the elegant duchess who appeared to be wearing a pair of pearl earrings in tribute to the Mauritshuis’s most famous painting, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (circa 1665).
The Duchess of Cambridge and Mauritshuis Museum director Emilie Gordenker. Photo: Arthur Edwards – Pool/Getty Images.
Princess Kate is a self-confessed art lover, holding a degree in history of art from the Scottish University of St. Andrews, and is also a patron of London’s National Portrait gallery.
The Duchess of Cambridge was reportedly in the Hague for a charitable conference at the British ambassador’s residence, where she addressed a variety of topics including addiction, mental health, and the family on behalf of two charities for whom she acts as a patron.
She started her trip with a meeting at the Dutch King Willem-Alexander’s countryside residence outside the city of the Hague.
Princess Kate also attended a community educational and mentorship program in the port city of Rotterdam, where local residents teach young people a variety of practical skills, including wood and metal work, computer repairs, and 3-D printing.