DUCHESS LAUNCHES HOLD STILL BOOK

The Duchess of Cambridge visited the National Portrait Gallery in London on May 7th to mark the release of her new photography book, Hold Still.

The book was put together in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, of which she is a patron. It contains the finalist pictures from the ‘Hold Still’ photography competition that the Duchess launched last year, asking members of the public to submit photographic portraits taken during the first national lockdown. The project’s aim was to create a unique record of the UK’s shared and personal experiences during this unprecedented time.

The Duchess also marked the publication of the book by joining with The Book Fairies to hide 150 copies in secret locations across the United Kingdom – a clever bit of marketing in a nation of book lovers and treasure hunters.

And just to whet the appetite, she posted a video of herself, dressed in a flaming red long coat, “hiding” a copy of the book by standing it up against the low railing around the pond where the Queen Victoria Memorial statue looms in the gardens of her London home at Kensington Palace.