Stepping closer to admire the striking works on display, Princess Eugenie's dual passion for art and the ocean is clear to see.
HELLO! has joined the Princess on a visit to Christie's to see Blue: Art for the Ocean, an exhibition of works by 35 artists from around the world, which will be auctioned this week to raise funds for Blue Marine Foundation.
"It's so cool," she says of the gallery, which boasts a captivating photograph by Marina Abramović entitled Performance for the Oceans, a piece in Lego by Ai Weiwei and an oil on acetate work by Peter Doig.
Eugenie - calling in after getting her sons August, three, and one-year-old Ernest ready for the day and before starting her working day as a Director at the art gallery Hauser and Wirth - was part of a 15-member art committee working with the charity to secure the donated pieces, with 100 per cent of the hammer price going towards the organisation's vital work to protect our seas.
"It's been a year in the making," she tells HELLO! "And so coming into the gallery today and actually seeing all the art on the walls that this committee has spent a year doing, it's really fantastic to see the hard work, but also the dedication from these artists.
"Artists now, they're asked a lot to commit work to charity auctions. I think it's a credit to them, but I also think it's a credit to the charity and to Blue Marine for the work they do. You know, they really put their money, where their mouth is.
© Liz McAulay"They actually do the work that we all want to see. They protect the ocean. They create these Marine Protected Areas and you can actually see the biodiversity and the marine life coming back to life when these areas are protected.
"It was an honour to talk to the artists about Blue Marine Foundation. They were excited to hear about it and to be a part of it, so I'm very happy."
Her sons' love of the ocean
The Princess divides her time between the UK and Portugal, where her husband Jack Brooksbank is based for work and where beach time is clearly precious to their young family.
"They love swimming," the Princess says of her young sons. "The sea in Portugal's a little bit rougher. So we've got our feet in, but Augie is a fish. He literally loves it and we have whales and dolphins all across the walls.
© Liz McAulay"We've got a book called The World's Wildest Waters, which is backed by Blue Marine Foundation - I see it every morning when Augie's eating breakfast, and he's like, 'Mama!' and then we go through it.
"The children have to find the creatures in the pictures and the next page is all the facts about the cuttlefish, or the Great White shark or the seal. And Augie loves it."
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
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