Art-loving Duchess visits Dutch museum

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The art-loving Duchess of Cambridge visited a Dutch museum Tuesday that is hosting a temporary exhibition of Old Master paintings that may well look familiar.

The former Kate Middleton started her first solo overseas trip by visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander in his mansion in wooded countryside just outside The Hague before touring the Mauritshuis museum, which is staging an exhibition of art on loan from the British Royal Collection.

The highlight of the visiting exhibition is Johannes Vermeer’s ``The Music Lesson,’’ but the duchess also toured the museum’s permanent collection, which includes perhaps Vermeer’s best-known work, ``Girl with a Pearl Earring,’’ and ``The Goldfinch’’ by Carel Fabritius.

Several hundred people lining the street outside the museum cheered the duchess, who studied art history at university. Kate, wearing a pale blue suit and what appeared to be pearl earrings for her visit to the home of Vermeer’s masterpiece, paused to chat with flag-waving local schoolchildren outside the museum before entering the historic building next to the Dutch Parliament complex. Kate’s visit came a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte about Britain’s departure from the European Union.

From the Mauritshuis, Kate was heading to the British ambassador’s residence in The Hague for a discussion on topics including addiction, mental health and the family. The Duchess is patron of two British charities that were taking part in the talks.

Her final appointment was in the port city of Rotterdam, where Kate was visiting a community project in which residents of a local neighborhood share their knowledge and experience with local youths, teaching them skills ranging from wood and metal work to computer repairs and 3D printing. AP