Duchess Kate releases new photos to mark her 40th birthday

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 40th birthday by releasing three new photos Sunday.

According to BBC, fashion photographer Paolo Roversi took the portraits, all of which show Kate in Alexander McQueen dresses, and described the experience as a "true honor" and "a moment of pure joy."

In the only color shot of the three, the duchess stands at an angle, the ruffled sleeve of her red off-the-shoulder dress covering one shoulder in the foreground while the other, left bare, blends into the gray background. Her hands disappear into the folds of her dress as she smiles, her hair blowing in the wind and an earring borrowed from the queen sparkling on her right ear.

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One of the two black-and-white shots is a close-up, shot with a slight blur that gives the duchess' features a soft, youthful look and makes her pearl earring, which once belonged to Princess Diana, glow fuzzily in the midst of her hair.

The final shot shows Prince William's wife of 10 years in profile. A different white dress, tied with simple bows at the shoulders, leaves her collarbone bare. The bows trail off into long white ribbons, one of which she clasps between her fingers as it falls over her skirt. The portrait seems almost Victorian. She looks every inch the future queen — stoic, strong, and confident.