In 2016, the Prince and Princess of Wales took a family holiday in the French Alps with their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, marking their first vacation as a family of four.
To commemorate the special occasion, Kensington Palace shared six delightful photos from the trip, including one where Princess Kate playfully throws a snowball at her husband, much to his surprise!
At the time, the family also released a statement saying, “This was their first holiday as a family of four and the first time either of the children had played in the snow. It was a very special and fun short holiday for the family, and they are grateful that John Stillwell [The PA photographer] was able to capture the moment so well. The Duke and Duchess hope people enjoy the photos.”
But there’s a fascinating story behind those images. In a discussion on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, John Stillwell, the photographer who captured the moments, revealed how the unexpected snowball fight photos came about.
Initially, John had planned to take skiing photos, but the weather didn’t cooperate, with misty conditions on the mountains. Instead, he opted to photograph the family outside the hotel, where he discovered a quiet, snow-covered road.
John recalled, “We went around to the back, and William asked, ‘What are we going to do? We’re supposed to be skiing.’ I said, ‘Well, no one knows you can’t ski today, so we’ll just take the photos here.’ He agreed, and I told them to walk 30 yards away and come back towards me while I snapped some pictures.”
The famous snowball fight idea came to John while preparing to take photos of William and Kate.
As Kate began walking away from the camera, he whispered, “Kate, when you get down there, make a snowball and have a snowball fight… but push it in his face.” John chuckled, “I didn’t think she’d actually do it, but she did, and William saw the humor in it!”
In another unexpected twist, Prince George and Princess Charlotte also appeared in the shots. John had originally planned to photograph them separately on the balcony, but they ended up joining their parents. The adorable siblings were dressed in winter gear, with George sporting a navy snowsuit and red bobble hat, while Charlotte looked precious in a white padded snowsuit, pink boots, and a pastel Fair Isle hat.
