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Royal photographer Arthur Edwards says he arranged for Princess Kate to receive a camera after showing her how it worked during a 2012 visit to the Solomon Islands. Edwards recalled keeping his role in the gift secret from Prince William, who later noticed Kate had a camera like his.
Royal photographer Arthur Edwards says he helped spark Princess Kate’s photography hobby by arranging a camera for her during a 2012 visit to the Solomon Islands. Speaking on Hello! magazine’s A Right Royal Podcast, Edwards recalled that Kate asked him about his camera, accepted his offer to arrange one, and that he kept the gift’s origin from Prince William at first.
Edwards said he showed Kate his camera and explained what it could do during the Solomon Islands visit. “Would you like one?” he recalled asking her. After she said yes, he said he contacted the camera company and asked it to send her one. His account is a recollection shared on the podcast; the source material does not identify the camera model or give the exact date of the exchange beyond the 2012 trip.
Edwards described a later encounter in Bhutan, where he was taking photographs with a small camera. William, he recalled, noticed that Kate had a similar one and said, “Catherine’s got a camera just like that!” Edwards said he did not tell William that he had arranged the camera for her. He said he could not remember the precise timing of the Bhutan episode.
Kate has since become known for taking photographs herself, including images shared through official social media accounts. The account links that interest to the camera Edwards arranged, although it does not establish that the gift was the sole cause of her developing photography as a hobby. Edwards is currently promoting his book, Cup of Tea, Arthur?: My Extraordinary 50 Years Photographing the Royal Family.
A Personal Start to Kate’s Photography
The story offers a specific origin point for a hobby that has become a visible part of Kate’s public life. Rather than only appearing in photographs taken by royal photographers, she has also shared images she took herself. Edwards’s recollection describes an early moment when a professional photographer introduced her to a camera and helped her obtain one.
It also adds a small detail to accounts of the couple’s life during royal travel. William’s reported reaction suggests that, at least initially, he did not know Edwards had arranged the camera. The anecdote is a personal recollection, not a major change in the couple’s public role, but it helps explain how an interest later apparent to royal followers may have begun.
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The 2012 Tour and Later Images
The camera story dates to a royal visit to the Solomon Islands in 2012. Edwards, a longtime royal photographer, said Kate spoke with him privately after he photographed her. He described showing her his camera and then contacting the company to arrange one for her. The source does not say whether the camera was formally presented as a gift, how soon it arrived, or what happened to that particular camera.
Edwards placed the later Bhutan encounter on a separate royal assignment, but he said he could not recall the precise timing. He remembered William noticing Kate’s camera while Edwards was photographing them. Kate’s later social-media photography provides the wider context for why the account has drawn attention: it connects an early camera to an interest now familiar to the public. The available report does not provide a detailed timeline of when she began taking or publishing her own photographs.
““I went over and showed her the camera and showed her what it does and I said, ‘Would you like one?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ So I rang the camera company and asked them to send her one.””
— Arthur Edwards, speaking on Hello! magazine’s A Right Royal Podcast
Details the Anecdote Leaves Open
The account comes from Edwards’s recollection on a podcast, and the source material does not independently document the exchange. Edwards said he could not remember the timing of the later Bhutan moment. It is also unclear which camera Kate received, when it arrived, or whether she used that same camera as her interest in photography developed.
The story describes the camera as an early influence, but it does not establish that the gift alone began or shaped Kate’s hobby. No further comment from Kate or William is included in the report. The precise circumstances of the private conversation are also not detailed.
Edwards’s Book and the Full Account
Edwards is promoting Cup of Tea, Arthur?: My Extraordinary 50 Years Photographing the Royal Family, and his podcast appearance is part of that publicity. Readers may find further recollections in the book, though the source material does not say whether it provides additional details about the camera or the 2012 visit.
For now, the account remains a brief anecdote from Edwards rather than a newly announced royal project or change in Kate’s public schedule. Any further detail about the camera, its delivery, or the Bhutan exchange would depend on additional comments or material from Edwards, the royal household, or other records of the trip.
Key Questions
Who arranged the camera for Princess Kate?
Royal photographer Arthur Edwards said he contacted a camera company and asked it to send Kate one after showing her how his camera worked.
When did Kate receive the camera?
Edwards said the exchange began during a 2012 visit to the Solomon Islands. The source does not give the exact date the camera was sent or delivered.
Did Prince William know Edwards had arranged it?
Edwards recalled that William later noticed Kate had a camera like his. Edwards said, “I didn’t let slip” that he had arranged it for her.
Is Kate known to take photographs now?
Yes. The report says Kate has become a keen photographer and has shared photographs through social media. It does not provide a full timeline of when she began taking or publishing them.
Source: marieclaire.com
