The Duchess is considering lending her patronage to a number of British arts institutions, thought to include The Tate, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A. Her support is expected to give a boost to museums hard-hit by the economy.

She is scheduled to meet with directors and curators at museums and galleries to learn more about the art world over the course of the next few months. She will then decide on where she will be an official patron.

Trained in art history at the University of St. Andrews, where she met Prince William, the Duchess will also become an "ambassador" for institutions with existing Royal support.

She is said to have a special interest in photography, having curated an exhibition of celebrity portraits by the photographer Alistair Morrison at a London gallery and pursued her own work.