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Self-isolating at home has given Kate Middleton plenty of time to enjoy one of her favorite hobbies: photography. Aside from carrying out royal duties remotely from Anmer Hall, homeschooling her young children and volunteering, the Duchess of Cambridge has been busy taking photos of her kids while under lockdown in the UK. The mom of three opened up about her quarantine pastime during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning . “I am very much an amateur photographer. I‘ve sort of learned along the way, but during this time I’ve spent lots of time picking up my camera and taking photographs of the children because they are always around us when we are doing stuff together, which has been great,” Kate said.
Royal fans have seen some of the Duchess’ work in recent weeks. Kate’s pictures of Princess Charlotte delivering food packages to pensioners were recently released to mark her fifth birthday, as were photos of Prince Louis making a rainbow handprint artwork to celebrate his second birthday. In one picture, the Duchess’ youngest son was pictured getting messy with paint on his face. “I should have taken a photograph of what I looked like after as well,” Kate said. “Luckily, that wasn’t documented, but I pretty much, I looked like Louis at the end of it.”
Prince William ’s wife also spoke about why photography is important to her. “One of the fantastic things about photography is you’re really capturing that moment,” the Duchess shared. “So it’s not stage setting it, it’s not setting it up perfectly, it’s not clearing your house away so you’ve got the perfect studio set up but it’s really capturing those moments that feel real to you and that capture a moment or an expression or a feeling I suppose and that’s the power of photography it can capture a moment and tell a story.”
Kate, who is patron of the National Portrait Gallery, launched her new community photography project Hold Still 2020. In collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, the royal “amateur photographer” is asking people around the UK to submit their own photographic portrait taken during these extraordinary times and based on one of three themes: Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal or Acts of Kindness. The project aims to capture the spirit, mood, hopes, fears and feelings of the nation as the world continues to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. One hundred shortlisted portraits will be featured in a virtual exhibition in August.