Kate Middleton launches book of portraits to remember pandemic

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, on Sunday launched a book of photographic portraits taken during Britain`s COVID-19 lockdowns that she said would provide a lasting record of the pandemic.

Kate, who is married to Prince William, the Queen`s grandson and second in line to the throne, began the project with the National Portrait Gallery last year, inviting people to submit photos taken during Britain`s first coronavirus lockdown.

A panel of judges including Kate chose 100 portraits from over 31,000 entries, which were shown in digital and community exhibitions before the book was announced.

"Through `Hold Still`, I wanted to use the power of photography to create a lasting record of what we were all experiencing – to capture individuals` stories and document significant moments for families and communities as we lived through the pandemic," Kate wrote in the introduction to the book.

The book, called 'Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020', will be available from May 7, exactly a year after the project began. Net proceeds will be split between the National Portrait Gallery and the British mental health charity Mind.