Kate Middleton published a coffee table book on the British lockdown

On May 7, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation, Kate Middleton's book about the British lockdown, will hit stores. The publishing project includes 100 photographs, featured in an exhibition of the same name at the National Portrait Gallery in 2020, capturing the British people during the first year of the pandemic. In the shots, which were selected from over 30,000 submitted by the Duchess of Cambridge and a jury of experts, there are health workers, grandparents with grandchildren, families, small intimate and heartwarming gestures that give humanity back to one of the darkest periods that Britain and the rest of the world have ever experienced.

When we look back at the Covid-19 pandemic in decades to come, we will think of the challenges we all faced – the loved ones we lost, the extended isolation from our families and friends and the strain placed on our key workers. But we will also remember the positives: the incredible acts of kindness, the helpers and heroes who emerged from all walks of life, and how together we adapted to a new normal.

Wrote Kate in the introduction to the coffee table book, which will be available May 7. Proceeds from sales will be donated to the mental health charity Mind and the National Portrait Gallery.

For the launch of Hold Still, Kate shared a new official portrait, taken by Matt Porteous in her backyard at Anmer Hall, in which she does a little fashion tribute to Lady D. In the image Middleton, with the camera around her neck (photography is one of her great passions!), wears a red sweater from which comes out the ruffled collar, almost wavy, of a blouse of the French brand Sézane which is already sold-out. That detail that reminds many of the pastry border of a tart is called pie crust collar and is a style element often sported by royals, especially Princess Diana in the 80s. Wanna bet that the crust collar, inspired by 16th-17th century ruffles, will be one of next season's trends?