Royal fans keen to mark the 13th wedding anniversary of the Prince and Princess of Wales were delighted to discover a previously-unseen portrait of William and Kate from their special day this afternoon.

Posted to Instagram with the caption ’13 years ago today!’, the black and white photograph was taken not by the couple’s official wedding photographer, Hugo Burnand, but by their private photographer, Dorset-based Millie Pilkington.

When asked abut her biggest break, Millie, who received her first camera from her mother at the age of 8, told The Gold Edition:

‘I’m not sure you can ask for a bigger break than being asked to capture the private wedding photographs for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in April 2011.’

Prince William, 41, and Kate Middleton, 42, married at Westminster Abbey in 2011, with around 37 million people watching in the UK and while official photographs were released after the big day, Millie was chosen to take more intimate shots for their private wedding album.

Millie Pilkington’s previously-unseen portrait of William and Kate on their wedding day

Millie took this photograph of King Charles and Queen Camilla, which was released on Friday 24 May alongside Charles’s encouraging health update

And Millie, described as ‘one of the UK’s most respected and accomplished portrait photographers’ on her website, turns out  to be the woman behind a whole host of royal images.

Most recently, the photographer, who specialises in children and family, took a smiling picture of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Released on Friday 24 May, the image accompanied Charles’s encouraging health update announcing that the King would be returning to some of his public duties after undergoing cancer treatment.

Millie is open about the enjoyment she gets from working with the royal family. Speaking to The Gold Edition in April 2023 she explained that, rather than finding the royals intimidating, she considers them to be ‘more humble, kind, thoughtful and approachable’ than a lot of people who lack their titles.

Millie has also taken photographs of William and Kate’s three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.

This photograph of Prince William with his three children was taken to mark Father’s Day last year

As well as taking portraits of their youngest child, Prince Louis, which have been released on various birthdays, Millie was on hand to capture Prince William with all three children ahead of Father’s Day last year.

According to her website, Millie, who is based near Sherborne in Dorset, ‘is known for doing whatever it takes to get the shot’.

The combination of her professional mindset and playful personality has seen her balance on top of a ladder and wade through a pond to get the right shot.

When she’s not photographing royals, Millie is busy taking pictures of families and pursuing editorial projects for publications including Country Life and Hello!

Speaking to The Gold Edition, Millie explained that her mother gave her a camera for her eighth birthday.

‘I quickly became obsessed with, taking photos of almost anything that moved, albeit predominantly my dog and horse,’ she said.

But Millie believes her ‘love of portraiture’ stems from upgrading her camera to a Minolta SLR at the age of 15. At that time, she especially enjoyed taking pictures of her family and friends.

Millie credits Jane Brown, the late English photographer who spent six decades at The Observer, as one of her most important influences.

Royal private photographer Millie Pilkington said William and Kate’s wedding was the biggest break you could get

She elaborated: ‘Be they candid snaps, such as her portrait of three Beetles fans or Cilla Black sipping tea, or even a close-up portrait of Mick Jagger laughing, her striking portraits all contain an honesty which I aspire to achieve in my portraiture.’

Another key feature of Millie’s oeuvre is her work with Country Life magazine, her biggest editorial client.

For the November 2018 issue, she photographed Dame Judi Dench for the magazine and has since shared that Country Life was a publication she had ‘always wanted to work for’.

While she has honed her craft since her early childhood, becoming a fulltime photographer after she married in the year 2000, Millie is happy to admit that sometimes a brilliant portrait comes down simply to ‘a stroke of luck – being in the right place at the right time and being quick.’