Duchess Camilla celebrates 75th birthday with stunning portrait taken by Kate Middleton

What a way to celebrate!

prince william camilla 1256277646

What a way to celebrate!

The Duchess of Cambridge is celebrating her 75th birthday in style.

To mark her upcoming milestone, which falls on 17th July, and to coincide with Country Life's 125th anniversary, the Duchess of Cornwall has the honour of being the new cover star for the publication, which she also guest edited for the special royal edition.

The images of Camilla on the front cover of Country Life, as well as other images inside, have been taken by no other than the Duchess of Cambridge who has a penchant for photography, and often shares portraits she has taken of her brood on their birthdays. 

One portrait of Camilla captures her in the gardens of Ray Mill House in Lacock, Wiltshire, wearing a blue and white ditsy print dress, which she layered with a blue cardigan as she perched on a bench holding a basket full of blooms.

Another image captures the Prince of Wales' wife walking through forget-me-nots at her home.

See more

A separate photo captures the behind the scenes of the shoot, with Kate in jeans, a red cardigan and trainers bending down to capture the perfect shot of Camilla, which has been shared on Country Life's official Twitter page.

Country Life's editor-in-chief, Mark Hedges, is "thrilled" to have Camilla involved in the upcoming 13 July issue, but also to have Duchess Catherine take the photos.

He said: "We are thrilled to have our guest editor captured so magnificently by royal photographer the Duchess of Cambridge."

The moment is said to be the first time Camilla has had a formal portrait taken by Kate.

Mark continued: "We understand this is the first time a formal portrait of The Duchess of Cornwall has been taken by The Duchess of Cambridge for a magazine and we are honoured to have been chosen to be the first to publish this beautiful image. The photographs are superb and we would be delighted to offer The Duchess of Cambridge another commission."

Kate - who has Prince George, Prince Louis and daughter Princess Charlotte with husband Prince William - did a good job with taking stunning photos of Camilla, so much so, the team were spoilt for choice.

Country Life’s Managing and Features Editor, Paula Lester, said: "The Duchess of Cambridge took our cover images at the request of our Guest Editor, The Duchess of Cornwall, and we could not be happier with the results — in fact, the set of images she took was so good that we struggled to choose only three, from which The Duchess of Cornwall made her final selection."

Happy Birthday Camilla!

Maisie Bovingdon

Maisie is a writer and editor, covering Royal News, Showbiz, Lifestyle content, as well as Shopping Writing and E-Commerce, for print and digital publications, including Marie Claire, Hello!, Fabulous, Mail Online and Yahoo!.