Kate Middleton Hopes to Preserve 'Appreciating Childhood' With New Victorian Photography Exhibit

Kate Middleton in London in red coat
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge adorably calls herself an 'enthusiastic amateur photographer.'

Kate Middleton. Duchess of Cambridge, mother of two (soon to be three!) and "enthusiastic amateur photographer."

According to a tweet from Kensington Palace on Friday, the 36-year-old royal is curating pieces for the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition on Victorian photography.

Middleton, who is currently pregnant with her and Prince William's third child, wrote a foreword for the Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography exhibition catalog, in which she explains she has hand-selected the photographs that will be featured in the gallery's first-ever Patron's trail. She also wrote the captions that will appear next to the pieces, which celebrate the birth of art photography in England.

"This period in the history of photography has long interested me," she said. "As a student at the University of St. Andrews, I chose it as the subject of my undergraduate thesis and photographs of children in particular, which feature predominantly within the exhibition are of real interest to me. These photographs allow us to reflect on the importance of preserving and appreciating childhood while it lasts."

"Children held a special place in the Victorian imagination and were celebrated for their seemingly boundless potential," she continued. "This notion still rings true for us today and it underpins much of my official work and the charities I have chosen to support, and, indeed, my role as a mother of a young family."

Read Middleton's full message below:

Her Royal Highness is expected to make a visit to Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The exhibition will officially be open to the public from March 1 until May 20.

In more royal news, Kensington Palace revealed earlier this week all the details on how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding will go down. From what time the wedding service starts to where locals can catch their first glimpse of the lovebirds as newlyweds, ET breaks it all down for you in our weekly royals column. Check it out HERE, and press play on the video below to hear the latest update on Middleton's pregnancy!

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