Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, undertook her first solo public engagement Wednesday with a visit to London's National Portrait Gallery.

The Duchess, also known as Kate, has recently become a patron of the gallery.

She attended a private viewing of an exhibit by artist Lucien Freud.

Kate studied art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met and fell in love with Prince William.

The Duke of Cambridge is currently serving in the Royal Air Force in the Falklands. He is not due back in Britain until the middle of next month, so Kate will be spending Valentine's Day without her husband.

Instead she is spending Feb. 14 visiting her chosen charities in Liverpool, northwest England. She will visit an alcohol-free bar in her role as Patron of Action on Addiction. Then she will visit a children's hospital and tour oncology and burns unit facilities.