Kate Middleton Receives Over 30K Submissions For 'Hold Still' Photography Project

Kate Middleton has received over 30,000 photos for her photography project "Hold Still" that aims to capture a portrait of the nation amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Kensington Palace shared a clip of Middleton and her fellow judges who took part in choosing 100 images from the 31, 598 photos they received on Instagram. The duchess also thanked everyone involved in the project including those who submitted their photos and her fellow judges.

“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,” Middle said as quoted in the caption.

In the short clip, the Duchess of Cambridge said it would be difficult for them to edit down the pictures. National Portrait Gallery director Nicholas Cullinan read the total number of photos they received and photographer Maryam Wahid was amazed with the number of volunteers who came together to support the project.

"It's great to have seen how other people are experiencing lockdown," writer and poet Lemn Sissay said in the video.

Meanwhile, England’s chief nursing officer Ruth May, who also serves as one of the judges, found the photos moving and "hysterically funny" that they gave her a good giggle at times.

The clip ended with Middleton asking, “What’s going to happen next?” Everyone then laughed because they had to start sorting out the thousands of submissions to choose the best 100 photos.

Middleton's project wants to show desperate and sad photos amid the coronavirus pandemic. But it will also showcase uplifting images on how the people unite and support each other when they are most vulnerable.

“Hold Still aims to capture a portrait of the nation, the spirit of the nation, what everyone is going through at this time. Photographs reflecting resilience, bravery, kindness—all those things that people are experiencing,” Middleton said about the project.

Princess Eugenie also supported Middleton's project. The Princess of York, who works as an Associate Art Director at the Hauser & Wirth art gallery in London, called Middleton's project a "brilliant idea and initiative to bring acts of kindness, heroes and helpers and your new normal life in a digital exhibition." She even promoted the project in her Instagram Story.

"You can submit your images taken during this challenging time to the National Portrait Gallery and could hopefully be one of 100 shortlisted for the exhibition,” Princess Eugenie wrote.