Catherine, Princess of Wales Shares Family Photo From Snowdon
Catherine, Princess of Wales, and her husband, William, Prince of Wales, shared a new family photo on Instagram on Sunday, October 25. The picture was taken at the base of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, and it was posted to mark Mountain Rescue Awareness Day.
The photo shows the couple with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Members of a local mountain rescue team are also in the frame, along with a golden retriever wearing a red coat. Town & Country reported that the picture was taken over the weekend of June 27 and 28, shortly after the princess finished her Three Peaks Challenge.
The National Three Peaks Challenge asks climbers to reach the highest mountain in each part of Britain within 24 hours. Those peaks are Scafell Pike in England, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Snowdon in Wales. Snowdon's Welsh name is Yr Wyddfa. The princess took on the climb to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which supports the Royal Marsden, a London hospital that treats cancer patients.
William has been patron of Mountain Rescue England and Wales since 2007. A patron is a senior figure who lends his name and support to a charity or cause. The role is public and carries no pay, and it often means visiting volunteers and raising awareness. William is 44.
Catherine's link to the climb did not end on the mountain. In September, she hosted a tea party at Windsor Castle for the other Three Peaks participants and their families. Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of the family's official residences.
People published its coverage of the photo on October 25. Most of the family's public life runs through official engagements, royal events and planned appearances. A photo taken at the foot of a Welsh mountain, with rescue volunteers and a dog in the frame, is a more personal look than most. The image also points back to the work that brought the family to the mountain: the volunteers who go out when someone is lost or hurt, and the charity that the climb was meant to help.
The photo was shared on a Sunday, but the climb itself was a June weekend in Wales. The gap between the two is part of what makes the picture land. A family's private weekend has turned into a public tribute to people most readers have never met.
