A portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, featured in the introduction to the book. /Kensington Palace/Reuters
After a year of COVID-19 restricting many to lives largely spent indoors, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has co-produced a book of 100 portraits documenting "unique and highly personal" moments of the British people during the country's lockdown.
The book was created in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and the proceeds will be split between it and the British mental health charity, Mind.
The Duchess, the wife of Prince William, started the project last year when she asked for photo submissions from the general public. The photos had to fall under the themes: 'Helpers and Heroes', 'Acts of Kindness', or 'Your New Normal.'
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Moe than 31,000 entries were submitted by people aged from four to 75.
With a panel of judges, the Duchess picked the final 100 portraits that are featured in the book. The images were also shown in public galleries across the country between October and November last year.
In the introduction to the book, the Duchess wrote: "I wanted to use the power of photography to create a lasting record of what we were all experiencing – to capture individuals' stories and document significant moments for families and communities as we lived through the pandemic."
Paul Farmer, CEO of the charity Mind, also thanked the National Portrait Gallery and the Duchess for choosing the charity as the recipient of the donations, and called the COVID-19 pandemic a mental health emergency.
Other members of the British royal family have also taken part in mental health advocacy.
Prince Harry is co-producing a documentary series about mental health with tv personality Oprah Winfrey. And his wife, Meghan Markle, has also spoken publicly about her struggles with mental health while serving as an active member of the royal family.
The book, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020, is available on May 7.