Duchess Catherine "personally chose" which of her wedding pictures were displayed at Buckingham Palace with her wedding dress.
The 34-year-old duchess – who was known as Kate Middleton before her marriage to Prince William in 2011 – had her stunning lace Sarah Burton gown exhibited at the royal residence from July to October 2011 and she chose one of Samir Hussein’s pictures of herself with sister and bridesmaid Pippa Middleton to be a part of the installation.
Discussing his favourite photos, Samir said: "One that springs to mind is the picture of Kate at her Royal wedding with Pippa. I think that’s one of Kate’s favourite pictures from the wedding she actually personally chose that picture to be used when the dress went on display at Buckingham Palace.
"They had a big sort of marketing campaign and that was when it started getting all crazy with William and Kate, it’s a very memorable picture for me because that’s what kick-started a lot of my career with the royals."
Samir has been working closely with British short break company Butlin’s to train a team of roving photographers to take candid family photos of holidaymakers after they discovered parents spend an average of five hours per break creating the perfect pictures.
He said of the campaign: "I’ve been working with the guys at Butlins with some dos and don’ts about getting good, natural, candid pictures. I did a training session with some of the guys earlier this week at Butlin’s and some of the things I was talking about was, first – most importantly – is getting the subject to have fun, so rather than getting them to pose up and stage it."
And families who visit the resorts will likely be too busy having fun to stop and take pictures as there’s so much on offer to do.
Youngsters will enjoy meeting their heroes, such as Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, and Angelina Ballerina after seeing them perform in special shows – as well as the resorts’ own Billy and Bonny Bear, who tots can even help put to bed in the evening. Older kids will love the football and archery classes. For adults, there’s the famous Red Coat Show, as well as pantomime-with-a-twist ‘Aladdin Rocks’, not to mention Superslam Wrestling. Fun for all comes at the fairground, minigolf and the outstanding Splash Water World, with its flumes, slides, wave machines and fountains.
There’s a variety of accommodation to suit everyone’s needs, with the Shoreline Hotel at Bognor Regis lending itself perfectly to families like William and Catherine, who have young children. The rooms come with safety features like rounded corners on the furniture and have a nautical-themed play deck, fun Octopus seating and even a ship’s cabin-style separate bedroom area for the youngsters, which boasts a starry ceiling and its own TV.
Families who put Samir’s photo dos and don’ts into practice this summer can also share their snaps using #RealFamilyMoments and @Butlins. For more information visit www.butlins.com.
Duchess Catherine ‘personally chose’ the wedding pictures displayed at Buckingham Palace
