She was joined by a panel of judges to select 100 images from more than 31,000 entries in her Hold Still photography project, which was launched with the National Portrait Gallery in May.

Kate invited people of all ages across the UK to submit a photo which they had taken during lockdown, and in the six weeks that the project was open 31,598 images were submitted.

"I've been so overwhelmed by the public's response to Hold Still, the quality of the images has been extraordinary, and the poignancy and the stories behind the images have been equally as moving as well," the Duchess said in a virtual chat.

Judges on the panel included England's chief nursing officer Ruth May, director of the National Portrait Gallery Nicholas Cullinan, writer and poet Lemn Sissay and photographer Maryam Wahid.

"I loved going through this, partly because it gives me a bit of a break from Covid-19 work that we've been doing in the NHS, where our NHS and our frontline staff have done an amazing job," Ms May said.

She added: "I found it hard as well as hysterically funny at times. When I was going through them I had a good old giggle as well."

Kate agreed, saying: "It's true, it's like a huge roller coaster, isn't it, of emotions?

"I suppose that's what everyone has experienced, a reflection of what everyone's been through at this time."

She said the images showed "how different and diverse everyone's experience of Covid-19 has been", adding: "No one story is the same, everyone's is unique.

"It's been great, it's going to be so difficult to edit this down."

The Hold Still initiative aimed to capture and document "the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation" as the UK dealt with the coronavirus outbreak.

The digital exhibition will launch on September 14, with a focus on three themes - helpers and heroes, your new normal and acts of kindness.

A selection of the photographs will also be shown in towns and cities across the UK later in the year.

Australian Associated Press