Princess Kate came face-to-face with one of the best-loved paintings in the world — “Girl with a Pearl Earring” — during a visit to the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague on Tuesday.
The oil painting by 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer features a young girl wearing a headscarf and a pearl earring.
And the royal was appropriately accessorized for the special viewing — wearing stunning pearl earrings herself! Kate styled her hair in a low chignon to reveal a stunning pair of diamond and pearl earrings borrowed from her grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth.
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Kate, who studied art history at the University of St. Andrews (where she met Prince William) and is a royal patron of the National Portrait Gallery, appeared transfixed by the mysterious painting.
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Described as “the Mona Lisa of the North,” the beloved work was the inspiration for the best-selling historical novel by Tracy Chevalier, which was adapted into a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson.
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Kate viewed several other classic paintings during her viewing of a new exhibit at the Holland museum, which includes works from the Royal Collection.
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Emilie Gordenker, director of the gallery, said Kate thought the tour “was a real treat.”
“She didn’t mention the earrings she was wearing, but she was interested in the painting,” Gordenker said. “She asked if it had become a lot more popular since the film came out, and I said it definitely had.
“She asked a lot of questions about the presentation of the paintings, because although she is familiar with a lot of the Queen’s paintings she has never seen them in this setting before, which gives them a different context.”
