Celebrating the Duchess of Cambridge's 40th birthday

Venue: Welcome Gallery

New loan from the National Portrait Gallery

We are thrilled to be displaying a new portrait of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, as part of the Duchess's 40th birthday celebrations. The portrait is lent by the National Portrait Gallery.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, by Paolo Roversi (platinum palladium print, 2021, NPG x201520)

Taken by photographer Paolo Roversi in November 2021, the portrait's arrival on loan at Reading Museum forms part of the National Portrait Gallery's Coming Home project, in which portraits of well-known individuals are lent to museums and galleries in places with which they are closely related.

Three separate portraits of the Duchess will be displayed in four locations across the UK, chosen in consultation with the Duchess: one in St Andrews, one in Anglesey, and two in Berkshire, including Reading Museum.

The Middleton family has strong ties to our local area. They have been parishioners of  St James the Less Church in nearby Pangbourne for several generations, whilst the Duchess herself was born in the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. It was for this reason that Reading Museum was chosen as a venue.

Plan your visit

The portrait will be on display in the Museum's ground floor Welcome Gallery from Thursday the 7th April to Saturday the 4th June 2022.

Plan your visit to Reading Museum.

Learn more about the National Portrait Gallery's Coming Home project.

Visit the Reading Museum online shop and buy souvenirs and gifts celebrating Reading and Berkshire heritage.