The Duchess of Cambridge and Countess of Wessex recently teamed up on video calls to nurses around the world during the coronavirus pandemic. And now Sophie is supporting Kate’s Hold Still photography project by submitting an image she took on her phone of a fellow volunteer in the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking, Surrey.
Sophie’s picture, which was taken last month, shows volunteer Ali. She describes in an accompanying caption how he helped establish the mosque’s food parcel delivery service for NHS workers and volunteers every day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Calling her image “packed with love,” a spokeswoman said that the Countess is sharing her photograph as “a tribute to all of the volunteers she has met over recent weeks who are working incredibly hard to help their local communities.”
Sophie has been regularly volunteering since the pandemic began. She spends time once a week with Mealforce, which provides meals for NHS workers across London. And she has also joined volunteers at the Hope Hub in Camberley, Frimley Park Hospital, the Lighthouse Woking Foodbank, Nourish our Nurses and, most recently, at the Runnymede Foodbank.
The photography project Hold Still was launched by the Duchess of Cambridge last month with the National Portrait Gallery. It aims to capture a snapshot of the United Kingdom throughout the pandemic by asking people to submit images in three categories: Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness.
The deadline for submissions to Hold Still is Thursday, June 18. For more information visit: npg.org.uk.
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.
