Kate Middleton selects final images of lockdown photography project

Kate Middleton is "overwhelmed" by the response to her lockdown photography project. She selected the final images to be featured in a digital exhibition.

The Duchess of Cambridge was joined by a panel of judges to select only 100 images from over 31,000 submissions made to Hold Still, the community photography project she launched with the National Portrait Gallery in May.

People of all ages across the UK were invited by the royal to submit a photo that they had taken during the lockdown period. The project aimed to capture and document the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation as people dealt with the coronavirus outbreak.

"I've been so overwhelmed by the public's response to Hold Still, the quality of the images has been extraordinary, and the poignancy and the stories behind the images have been equally as moving as well.

"So I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has entered and taken part. And a big thank you to my fellow judges. I hugely appreciate the time and dedication that they have shown towards the project," Kate Middleton said.

Judges on the panel included England's chief nursing officer Ruth May, director of the National Portrait Gallery Nicholas Cullinan, writer and poet Lemn Sissay and photographer Maryam Wahid.

"I just want to reflect on, I suppose how we first came to think of the idea and why we chose to do this photography project," Kate said during a virtual chat with the judges.

"I think we all really felt, and I particularly felt, really strongly that I wanted to try and create a portrait of the nation that sort of captures the fears and the hopes and the feelings of the nation at this really extraordinary time, as a record I suppose for years to come. The quality of the images has been extraordinary really and the poignancy and the stories behind the images I think have been equally moving as well," she added.

The selected images will feature in a gallery without walls. It is a one of a kind digital exhibition – which will be held on Monday, Sept. 14. The participants were asked to photograph themes including – Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness. Besides, a selection of these photographs will also be shown in towns and cities across the UK later in the year.