Turns out that the black-and-white portrait, released to mark the Prince and Princess of Wales’ 13th anniversary, was in plain sight
Kate Middleton and Prince William’s previously unseen wedding portrait shared to mark their 13th anniversary was spotted before by royal watchers — in a call with Lady Gaga!
On their April 29 anniversary, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a never-before-seen, black and white portrait taken on their royal wedding day in 2011. The image snapped by photographer Millie Pilkington showed the newlyweds posing close, with Princess Kate in her white lace wedding gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and Prince William in the black uniform of the Blues and Royals, resurfacing his outfit change from the scarlet Irish Guards tunic he sported at Westminster Abbey.
“13 years ago today!” the couple captioned the snap across their social media channels.
While the intimate image was new to most, the Prince of Wales, 41, had it displayed on his desk years ago.
A portion of the portrait by Pilkington was spotted displayed in a frame on Prince William’s desk during a video call with Lady Gaga shared in April 2017 for the Heads Together campaign.
When the camera panned to Prince William during the conversation, the newly revealed photo by Pilkington could be spotted behind his laptop. The collection of framed photos also included a snap of a dog, a 2013 photo by father-in-law of Prince William and Princess Kate with Prince George, now 10, as a baby and what appeared to be a playful picture of Prince Harry posing in glasses.
Mental health is a key focus of The Royal Foundation, the charity for the Prince and Princess of Wales’ nonprofit work, and the couple launched the Heads Together initiative with Prince Harry in 2016 to smash stigmas around help for mental health.
The clip opened with shots of Kensington Palace, where Prince William, Princess Kate and their kids primarily lived at the time (the family relocated to Windsor in 2022) and the Hollywood sign in California, rolling to show Gaga video chatting with William from a computer in a home kitchen.
The singer-songwriter, actress and activist praised the “beautiful stories” of Heads Together’s short films highlighting people from all walks of life talking about their mental health challenges through the #OkaytoSay series, and Prince William thanked her for the kind word.
“Harry, Catherine and I felt this was such an important area that, throughout all our charitable work, whether it was veterans, homelessness, addiction, most of it seemed to stem back to mental health issues,” the royal said.
Prince William also told Gaga that he thought her open letter published through her Born This Way Foundation about her PTSD diagnosis was “incredibly moving and very brave.”
“It’s time that everyone speaks up and really feels very normal about mental health, it’s the same as physical health. Everybody has mental health and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it and just having a conversation with a friend or family member can really make such a difference,” William said later in the conversation with the “Million Reasons” singer, who has been a mental health advocate through her Born This Way Foundation since 2012.
“It’s really important to have this conversation and that you won’t be judged. It’s so important to break open that fear and that taboo which is only going to lead to more problems down the line,” he added.
On April 30, Prince William continued his mental health advocacy mission with a visit to James’ Place Newcastle to open the new center working to support men in suicidal crisis.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
