The Duchess of Cambridge was
the consummate professional who “took her commission” for Country
Life magazine “very seriously”, it has been revealed.
Kate was tasked with
photographing the Duchess of Cornwall as she guest-edited the latest issue
of the publication, which was marking its 125th anniversary. Camilla also
took on the role to celebrate her passion for the countryside and her 75th
birthday later this month.
Country Life’s Managing and
Features Editor, Paula Lester, who worked with Clarence House for six months to
pull together the souvenir 244-page issue, and who spoke to Kate ahead of the
shoot, revealed: “The Duchess of Cambridge took our cover images at the
request of our Guest Editor, The Duchess of Cornwall, and we could not be
happier with the results.
“In fact, the set of
images she took was so good that we struggled to choose only three, from which
The Duchess of Cornwall made her final selection.”
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Camilla guest-edited the new issue of Country Life
Praising Kate’s work ethic,
she continued: “The Duchess of Cambridge took her commission very
seriously and was incredibly professional about the task at hand.
“She phoned me to discuss
our requirements for the cover and subsequently composed a range of beautifully
shot images.”
Kate photographed Camilla at
the Duchess’ private home in Wiltshire, Ray Mill House. She purchased the
six-bedroom property, 17 miles from Prince Charles’ Highgrove estate, after her
divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles in the mid-1990s.
For her cover photo, Camilla
looked happy and relaxed as she sat on a bench with a trug filled with
pelargoniums, ready to be planted. Beaming with joy, she wore a blue and white
floral dress and cardigan. Another picture by Kate appears on the leader page
and is an informal shot of Camilla walking through forget-me-nots at her
country home.
Prince William’s wife, who is
a keen amateur photographer and patron of the Royal Photographic Society,
regularly takes the official portraits of her own children Prince George,
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis for important milestones such as birthdays
and first days of school.
However, this was the first
time she photographed Camilla for an official magazine shot.
