The Prince and Princess of Wales have marked Mother’s Day with a short video celebrating the power of Mother Nature, instead of a new family photograph. In recent years, Kate and William have marked the special day by releasing personal photographs, but no new images have been released this year. The different approach comes after the furore over last year’s image, which Kate admitted was digitally altered.
Instead, the video reflects how important nature has been for the princess during her cancer treatment and recovery. In a message accompanying the video, Kate says: “Over the past year, nature has been our sanctuary. This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate Mother Nature and recognise how our bond with the natural world can help not only nurture our inner selves, but remind us too of the role we play within the rich tapestry of life. C.”
Released on Kensington Palace’s official social media pages on Sunday morning, the film features footage of a number of different natural environments – from woodlands and fields to beaches and the ocean – and seeks to highlight our connection to the natural world and the benefits to us all of spending time in nature.
Kate and William are seen in two shots of the video, but only the backs of their heads. The shorts were taken by Will Warr, the videographer who filmed their family film last September, last summer in Norfolk.
Kate has long been an advocate of spending time in the natural world and last summer she hailed the “power of nature” to “keep us physically, mentally and spiritually healthy.” It is understood that connecting with nature is something that has supported her recovery.
When sharing updates on her cancer journey with the public, many of the images have been of the princess in nature. Ahead of her first public appearance at Trooping the Colour last June, an image of Kate standing underneath a willow tree was released, and her emotional film revealing that she had completed her chemotherapy showed the family spending time outdoors.
Last year’s picture was shrouded in controversy after picture agencies killed it over fears it had been “manipulated.” The image, which was the first picture released since Kate’s major abdominal surgery, showed the princess with her arms around her three children at their home in Windsor.
But experts were quick to spot the aspects of the image appeared to be doctored, with tweaks to Louis’ jumper, Charlotte’s skirt and the background of the picture.
The following day, Kate issued an apology where she admitted to editing the photo. She said: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
The image, taken by the Prince of Wales, was released at a time of heightened social media speculation about Kate’s health because she hadn’t been seen in public for other three months.
Less than two weeks after the furore over the Mother’s Day picture, Kate released a video message saying she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
In 2023, Kensington Palace released two portraits of the family, one of Kate with her three children sitting in a tree, and another of the Princess cradling Louis. No image was shared in 2022 but the year before pictures showed a cake baked by George, Charlotte and Louis, as well as photos of cards the children had written to their late grandmother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
To mark Mother’s Day in 2020, a picture showed a family piggy back race with Charlotte riding on Kate’s back and George on William’s. Other images shared at the time celebrated Kate’s mother Carole Middleton cradling a baby Kate and a photograph of Diana with a young William and Harry.