London 2012: Duchess of Cambridge meets torchbearer, 100
The Duchess of Cambridge has met the London 2012 Olympic torch relay's oldest female bearer at the opening of a new exhibition in London.
Diana Gould , 100, is set to carry the flame in London and met the duchess at the National Portrait Gallery, of which the duchess is a patron.
Mrs Gould, from Kenton, will be a torchbearer in the London Borough of Barnet as part of the 70-day relay .
She was chosen to sit for a portrait for the Road to 2012 exhibition .
Born in 1912, the centenarian runs exercise classes three times a week in the retirement flats where she lives.
Her group of fitness fans sit in a circle of armchairs, stretching, reaching and bending to keep flexible and healthy.
She was nominated by her granddaughter Alex Antscherl who said: "She's been an active person all her life and doesn't let her age stop her now."
Mrs Gould was born in Lodz in Poland and came to London as an infant.
She grew up in the East End and moved to Stoke Newington with her husband Ted before World War II, before settling in Hendon in 1960.
The exhibition - entitled Road To 2012: Aiming High - is the third and final instalment of a three-year project that has showcased Olympic and Paralympic athletes and those working behind the scenes.
Last year the Changing Pace exhibition was staged and in 2010 Setting Out was the name of the inaugural event.
Among those photographed for the exhibition are the men's rowing eight, taekwondo fighter Jade Jones, London Mayor Boris Johnson and Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor, who co-created the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculptor at the Olympic Park.
Mrs Gould was photographed for the exhibition by Nadav Kander.
At the opening the duchess, who has a formal role with the Olympics as an ambassador for Team GB and ParalympicsGB, wore an Olympics-inspired necklace featuring five rings.
"It's a personal piece which she's had for some time," said a St James's Palace spokesman of the necklace.
"It's not an official Olympic item but it's appropriate to wear it."
During the exhibition, the duchess came across an image of herself - a black-and-white photograph taken when she visited the Olympic Park in March to meet and practise with the GB hockey squad.
A total of 8,000 people will carry the flame during its 8,000-mile journey to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London on 27 July.