Princess Kate reopens London's National Portrait Gallery

The royal commented that you 'could spend absolutely ages' admiring the many portraits

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 20: Catherine, Princess of Wales leaves the gallery during the reopening of the National Portrait Gallery on June 20, 2023 in London, England. The Princess of Wales is opening tShow more

Princess Kate reopened the National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday following its three-year, £41.3 million ($52.6m) refurbishment.

As a patron of the gallery, the Princess of Wales officially opened its doors in London ahead of its reopening to members of the public later this week.

She met Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell, who went on to discuss his artistic collections with the royal.

Earlier, she spoke with award-winning British artist Tracey Emin, whose 45 hand-drawn female portraits have been cast in bronze as artwork for the gallery’s new entrance doors.

Ms Emin said after the reopening: “When I arrived, I was anxious. There was all these other things that were on my mind, and I totally forgot about the doors.

“So when I came up, I gasped – it was a big surprise and that lifted my energy.”

The princess earlier visited the Mildred and Simon Palley Learning Centre, where she met children from Soho Parish Nursery and Westminster Family Hub undertaking a workshop on Beatrix Potter.

Kate spoke of the importance of introducing children to creativity that “captures their imagination” and met three-year-old Raini, praising her work of art and its “buzzy bees”.

Princess of Wales reopens London's National Portrait Gallery - in pictures

The gallery will launch an under-5s programme in September, which will welcome families from the local community to the Gallery and encourage creative learning, play and exploration.

Kate was taken through the colourful rooms of Duveen Wing, before stopping to view Sir Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of Mai (Omai), one of the gallery’s newly acquired paintings.

Produced in 1776, it depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain and is one of the first portraits to include tattoos.

Kate said she loved the colour and tone of the painting, and noted how someone “could spend absolutely ages” admiring the many portraits.

Afterwards, the princess was shown around the Yevonde exhibition, stopping to ask questions about a variety of pieces in the London photographer’s “wonderful” collection.

Sir Paul and Nancy then greeted Kate following the tour and discussed the contents of the gallery and the former Beatles member’s coming exhibition.

A collection of Sir Paul’s photographs from 1963 and 1964 is due to open in the gallery on June 28.

Kate waved to crowds gathered outside the gallery as she departed.

Nicholas Cullinan, the National Portrait Gallery director, said the Princess was “fantastic” and “really passionate”.

“To have a senior member of the royal family that really cares about culture, museums, art and is knowledgeable and supportive is such a great thing for this country,” he said.

Opened in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery moved to its current location 40 years later and houses more than 11,000 portraits of historically famous and important British people in its Primary Collection.