Royals

The Duchess of Cambridge steals the spotlight at the National Portrait Gallery gala

The 35-year-old royal looked stunning in a deep-emerald ensemble at the prestigious event.
Duchess of Cambridge, National Portrait Gallery gala

The Duchess of Cambridge tonight attended a gala at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The event, which took place on Tuesday evening local time, saw the mother-of-two opt for an elegant lace dress from British fashion house, Temperley London.

She accented the full-length, deep-emerald ensemble with her signature blow-dry, a gold-tone snakeskin clutch and earrings by Kiki McDonough.

Kate – who has been a patron of the National Portrait Gallery since 2012 – will spend part of the evening viewing the gallery’s latest exhibitions: Howard Hodgkin: Absent Friends, and Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun: Behind The Mask, Another Mask.

The down-to-earth royal also wore this stunning dress to the Queen’s private 90th dinner party at Windsor Castle in April last year.

Kate revamped the ensemble with a flash of gold in the form of a snakeskin clutch.

The Duchess is known to apply her own makeup for each engagement. And if you ask us… she does a jolly good job of it!

The 35-year-old will also view a handful of specially commissioned masks by the likes of Dame Vivienne Westwood and Philip Treacy as well as a series of postcard-sized works of art specially created for the evening’s fundraising event: ‘Mystery Portrait Postcard Sale.’

Following this Kate will meet will a selection of guests who helped to make the night a success, before sitting down to dinner.

As a former art student at St Andrew’s, the royal will undoubtedly impress fellow guests at the event with her extensive knowledge of the art world.

The Duchess rubbed shoulders with the likes of Alexa Chung and Sophie Ellis-Bextor while at the prestigious event.

Kate attended the event in her capacity as a patron of the London museum.

The royal engagement follows the news that the Duchess will soon embark on a solo visit to Luxembourg on May 11.

Kensington Palace confirmed that the trip has been planned around a series of events in commemoration of the 1867 Treaty of London.

Further details surrounding the royal’s visit to small European country are expected to be announced closer to the date.

The trip – which will likely be interpreted as another attempt to solidify England’s ties with Europe in a post-Brexit climate – will be the Duchess’s second official solo overseas visit, following her trip to the Netherlands last October.

Kate visited Paris earlier this month with her husband Prince William.

The royal duo kicked off their brief two-day visit to the City of Lights with a meet and greet on the steps of the Elysee Palace.

William, 34, was seen to happily engage in a bi-lateral chat with the country’s leader, President Francois Hollande, as the group posed for photographs ahead of retiring into the Elysee for a short reception.

Kate and Wills posed for pictures on the steps of the Elysee Palace, the president’s official residence.

The royal duo were reportedly welcomed warmly by the French people.

The trip marked the first official royal visit by the couple to Paris since the untimely death of William’s mother, Princess Diana.

Wills was just 15 and his brother Prince Harry only 12, when Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. She was just 36 years old.

With this in mind, the trip to the French capital was undoubtedly an emotional experience for the second in line to the throne.

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