The Duchess of Cambridge records special video message to mark the end of her exhibition

From Harper’s BAZAAR

As the UK enters another week of its second national lockdown, the Duchess of Cambridge has recorded a special message to those who submitted to her digital exhibition telling stories of individuals and families affected by the restrictions.

To mark the end of the Hold Still exhibition, Kate recorded a video message thanking everyone who submitted a portrait to the project, which has received more than 5.2 million page views on the National Portrait Gallery website.

“I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent an image to Hold Still,” she says in the clip, smiling. “I started the project with the National Portrait Gallery in May because I wanted to find a way for everyone to share their stories and experiences of lockdown.”

Wearing a crimson blazer and cream top, the Duchess continued: “For me, the most powerful part of the project is that it has shown how people and communities have come together and how important we all are to each other. Thank you so much for being part of Hold Still and sharing your stories with the nation.”

She added: “I couldn’t be more grateful to each and every one of the 31,000 people who submitted an image. It was very difficult to select the final 100 photographs, but we hope to have created a collective portrait of our nation, reflecting what others have experienced as well as our own journeys through this difficult time.”

Earlier this week, Kate also spoke to NHS nurse Johannah Churchill, whose portrait ‘Melanie, March 2020’ was recreated as a large mural in the city of Manchester as part of the national exhibition, which was displayed on billboards and outdoor viewing sites in 80 towns and cities across the UK for four weeks.

Johannah’s photo featured her colleague who was working to set up a COVID-19 clinic in London. During the video call, she and the Duchess discussed the impact of the photo and the important role it played in representing the experiences of frontline workers across the country.

“It was fantastic to see these portraits on billboards and outdoor sites across the country as part of our community exhibition, and I am incredibly grateful to all our partners for helping us bring the images back to the people and communities who took them,” Kate added in her video message.

The Duchess launched Hold Still in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery in May, inviting people across the country to submit photos they had taken during lockdown. She was joined by a panel of judges to select 100 portraits to form the virtual exhibition.

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