Royal fans keen to mark the Prince and Princess of Wales’ 13th wedding anniversary were delighted to discover a never-before-seen portrait of William and Kate from their special day this afternoon.
Posted on Instagram with the caption ’13 years ago today!’, the black and white photograph was taken not by the couple’s official wedding photographer, Hugo Burnand, but by their Dorset-based private photographer, Millie Pilkington .
When asked about her biggest break, Millie, who received her first camera from her mother at the age of 8, said The gold edition:
“I’m not sure you could ask for a bigger break than being asked to capture private photographs from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in April 2011.”
Prince William, 41, and Kate Middleton, 42, married at Westminster Abbey in 2011, in front of around 37 million people in the UK, and although official photographs were released after the big day, Millie was chosen to take more intimate photographs for your private wedding. album.
Millie Pilkington’s never-before-seen portrait of William and Kate on their wedding day
Millie took this photo of King Charles and Queen Camilla, which was posted on Friday, May 24, along with the encouraging update on Charles’ health.
And Millie, described as “one of the UK’s most respected and accomplished portrait photographers” on her website, turns out to be the woman behind a host of real-life images.
More recently, the photographer, who specializes in children and family, took a smiling photograph of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Posted on Friday, May 24, the image accompanied Charles’ encouraging health update announcing that the King would return to some of his public duties after undergoing cancer treatment.
Millie is open about the pleasure she gets from working with the royal family. Speaking to The Gold Edition in April 2023, she explained that, rather than finding royals intimidating, she finds them “more humble, kind, thoughtful and approachable” than many people who lack their titles.
Millie has also taken photos of William and Kate’s three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
This photograph of Prince William with his three children was taken to mark Father’s Day last year.
In addition to taking portraits of her youngest son, Prince Louis, which were released on his birthday, Millie was on hand to capture Prince William with the three children before Father’s Day last year.
According to her website, Millie, who lives near Sherborne in Dorset, “is known for doing whatever it takes to get vaccinated.”
The combination of her professional mindset and playful personality has led her to balance on a ladder and cross a pond to get the right shot.
When she’s not photographing royals, Millie is busy taking family photos and completing editorial projects for publications such as Country Life and Hello!
Speaking to The Gold Edition in April 2023, Millie explained that her mother gave her a camera for her eighth birthday.
“I quickly became obsessed with taking photographs of almost anything that moved, although mainly my dog and horse,” he said.
But Millie believes her “love of portraits” stems from switching her camera to a Minolta SLR when she was 15. At that time, she especially enjoyed taking photographs of her family and friends.
Millie credits Jane Brown, the late English photographer who spent six decades at The Observer, as one of her most important influences.
Private royal photographer Millie Pilkington said William and Kate’s wedding was the biggest opportunity she could have
She explained: “Whether candid photographs, such as his portrait of three Beetles fans or Cilla Black drinking tea, or even a close-up portrait of Mick Jagger laughing, all of his striking portraits contain an honesty that I aspire to achieve in my Pictures”. .’
Another key feature of Millie’s work is her work with Country Life magazine, her largest publishing client.
For the November 2018 issue, she photographed Dame Judi Dench for the magazine and has since shared that Country Life was a publication she had “always wanted to work for”.
While she’s honed her craft since childhood and became a full-time photographer after getting married in 2000, Millie admits that sometimes a brilliant portrait comes down to simply “a stroke of luck: being in the right place in the world.” right time and being quick.’