Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has appeared positively overwhelmed in a video conference today. More than 31,000 photos were submitted to her Hold Still project. The project is spearheaded by the Duchess and the National Portrait Gallery that has asked Britons to submit photos of how they defied the corona pandemic lockdown. It is a community project set to capture this unique time. There were three categories that the project focused on: Helper and heroes, your new normal and acts of kindness.

The panel consisting of the Duchess herself, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Nichola Cullinan, Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May, broadcaster and author Lemn Sissay and award-winning photographer Maryam Wahid will announce on September 14 the top 100 chosen images. Those images will be published on the The National Portrait Gallery’s website.

The project is set to boost the nation’s morale in the fight against the corona virus and all the restriction and hardships that came with it. The Duchess seemed to be well aware of this when she said in the video call that it will be very hard to edit down the many submitted photographs. In the video she also praised the high quality and poignancy of the photos. She was also moved by the stories behind the pictures. Here you can see one example.

The Duchess is known to be a keen photographer herself regularly taking photos of her three young children that are being published every year on their respective birthdays. Over time she has received a lot of praise for these pictures. One can expect her to be very committed in deciding on the top 100 finalists. We are looking forward to the publication and will keep you updated!