The Duchess of Cambridge has told how her children ask her to “please stop taking photographs”.

Kate, who is a keen photographer, revealed that George, Charlotte and Louis are sometimes reluctant to let her take a picture of them.

She made the comments during a conversation with a finalist of her Hold Still photography contest. The duchess was discussing an emotional photograph taken by Ceri Edwards, showing her daughter Poppy hugging her father Mark before his shift as a paramedic in Newport, south Wales. She praised the black-and-white image’s “strength, courage and resilience”.

During the phone call, featured on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s YouTube channel on Thursday, Kate and Ceri spoke about the power of photography.

The duchess asked if Ceri’s husband was a photographer, to which she said: “No. Well, Mark would say otherwise just because I do take a lot of pictures of the family.”

Kate laughed and replied: “It’s like me. Everyone’s like, ‘Mummy, please stop taking photographs’.”

Ceri responded: “I know, but I love it. I love looking back. I think when you have children, time seems to go into warp speed, really, and it’s just a lovely thing for me. You look back and see how much the children have grown.”

The Hold Still project encouraged the public to document life through photographs during the pandemic. It has since been turned into an exhibition and book.