Is this royal the inspiration for the Duchess of Cambridge's candid home photos?
Over the last few years, the Duchess of Cambridge has thrilled fans by releasing her own photographs of her children as they mark their birthdays.
In lockdown, this has continued and even grown, with her husband Prince William the focus of several photos which were released over his birthday weekend.
Fans have enjoyed seeing the pictures of the young royals, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, at home, and also love knowing it’s their mother behind the camera.
It seems Kate’s idea is not the first time a royal has decided to opt for the tactic.
She may have been inspired by the Crown Princess of Sweden, Victoria, who has spent several years doing the same thing, and releasing images through her social media.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Victoria started releasing her pictures when she had her baby Estelle, because she didn’t trust the press, as they had reported details of an eating disorder when she was a teenager.
Read more: This is the camera Duchess of Cambridge uses to take her children’s portraits
The paper reports: “The public reacted hugely positively, loving not only the fact that they could see such milestones as Estelle blowing out the candles on her first birthday cake but also that Victoria was behind the camera.”
It goes on to say that Kate decided to do the same thing, helped by the fact she was already a keen amateur photographer.
There’s another key clue on Instagram - Kensington Royal’s account follows the Princess’s royal account, Kungahuset.
Who is Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden?
Victoria is the oldest daughter of Sweden’s King and Queen, Carl and Silvia.
She is the heir to the throne, ahead of her younger brother thanks to a change in the law which happened when her brother, Carl Philip, was born.
The change, similar to the one implemented in the UK when the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with Prince George, means women aren’t pushed out of the line of succession by their younger male relatives.
Victoria’s children are also ahead of her brother in the line of succession.
She is 42 years old and has two children - Estelle and Oscar.
They have been a focus of the instagram account they run, as she shares moments from their lives around their birthdays and other special occasions.
Read more: Royal photos send fans into a spin - so who do Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte look like?
Details of Victoria’s battle with anorexia emerged in 1996, and the Swedish palace was forced to confirm it the following year.
The Crown Princess decided to study in the US instead of in Sweden in order to have some anonymity while she was treated for the eating disorder.
In a documentary filmed in 2017 for her 40th birthday, she said: “I went through a tough time.
“I needed time to sort things out and get my balance back again. I needed to get to know myself, discover where my limits were, not constantly push myself too much.”
She also wrote about her illness in a book, in which she said: “I felt like an accelerating train, going right down... during the whole period. I had eating disorders and was aware of it, my anguish was enormous. I really hated how I looked like, how I was... I, Victoria, didn’t exist.
“It felt like everything in my life and around me was controlled by others. The one thing I could control was the food I put in me.
"What happened cost and I was the one who stood for the payments. Now I’m feeling well and with the insights I’ve acquired through this I can hopefully help someone else”
Her illness did eventually lead her to meet her husband though. Prince Daniel is a former personal trainer.
Princess Victoria’s full time royal work covers issues of conflict management and international peace building and she regularly travels to represent Sweden and promote its culture.
Her charitable fund works to raise money for children with disabilities and chronic illnesses and while it relies on donations, she also has sponsors, like Arla Foods and Swedbank.
As well as her public engagements, she carries out private visits to the charities she supports through her fund, which aren’t announced in the royal diary.
