Kate Middleton has hidden copies of her new book with letters inside around the UK

The Duchess of Cambridge has teamed up with The Book Fairies to start the treasure hunt

Saman Javed
Friday 07 May 2021 09:22 EDT
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The Duchess of Cambridge talks to ‘Hold Still’ entrants during a visit to the archive in the National Portrait Gallery
The Duchess of Cambridge talks to ‘Hold Still’ entrants during a visit to the archive in the National Portrait Gallery (PA)

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Kate Middleton is leaving copies of her new photography book, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020, scattered around the UK for people to find.

The book, which was published on Friday, features 100 photographs of people from across the nation and aims to capture a “collective portrait of the UK during lockdown”.

The photographs were selected from 31,000 entries based on the emotions and experiences they conveyed, The National Portrait Gallery said.

Earlier today, Kate announced that a treasure hunt had commenced, as she has hidden copies of the book around the UK. Each copy also contains a letter from the Duchess.

“Let the search begin! We’ve joined @the_bookfairies for the day to share copies of Hold Still around the UK with you,” a tweet from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Twitter account said.

“Each copy is adorned with a gold book fairy sticker, gold ribbon, and has a letter from The Duchess tucked inside. #HSbookfairies,” it added.

The Book Fairies are an organisation of people across the world who hide books for others to find and read, before passing them on to someone else.

The announcement was also accompanied by a short video, which shows Kate dressed in a full-length red coat as she places the book next to a fountain outside Kensington Palace.

A separate tweet said both the judges and people featured in the final 100 photographs would be leaving copies of the book in places that gave them hope during the first national lockdown.

“To make this activity even more special, book fairies, the Hold Still judges and participants of the final 100 images are leaving copies at places that gave them hope during the lockdown. This special book documenting the unique collection of photographs goes on sale today!” the tweet said.

Also sharing pictures of Kate leaving a copy of the book at the fountain, The Book Fairies welcomed the Duchess to their cohort.

“We are delighted that The Duchess of Cambridge has not only harnessed the power of The Book Fairies today but became a book fairy herself to hide copies of Hold Still! Follow #HSBookFairies to follow the activity today! #ibelieveinbookfairies #HoldStill2020,” the group said in a tweet.

Kate, who is a patron of the National Portrait Gallery, launched the Hold Still project during the first lockdown to document life during the pandemic.

All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the Mind charity and the National Portrait Gallery.

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