SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

British RoyalsCoronavirusPrince & Princess of Wales

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge put focus on COVID-19 support

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have updated their charitable foundation’s website with new guidelines on how they will support those on the frontline of responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Royal Foundation now lists three key ways that William and Kate will support charities. They include:

  • “Working to connect our partners with those who are able to provide practical support to frontline responders and their families;
  • “Doing all we can to promote and support the charities that can play a part in helping responders and their families with their mental health needs;
  • “Playing our part in the national effort to thank and celebrate all those working on the frontline of this crisis.”

William and Kate have been active in supporting first responders, NHS workers and schools throughout the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK.

On 19 March, they visited the London Ambulance Service in Croydon to meet NHS 111 and 999 operators who were receiving up to five times the calls they regularly received due to COVID-19.

“Catherine and I were proud to visit staff working at NHS 111, to pass on our personal thanks, along with those of my grandmother and father, to staff working around the clock to provide care and advice to those that need it most,” William said in a post on the Royal Family’s website detailing the visit.

As the UK is under social distancing restrictions, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have conducted the majority of their work via telephone and video conferencing.

“The Duke and Duchess have been in regular contact with organisations they support and with their patronages to understand the issues they are facing during this difficult time,” a post on the Royal Foundation’s website reads.

William and Kate were photographed at their home offices on the telephone with Mind’s CEO and Place2Be’s CEO to discuss how Heads Together and its partners can work with Public Health England released new guidelines on how to care for wellbeing in late March.

“The last few weeks have been anxious and unsettling for everyone. We have to take time to support each other and find ways to look after our mental health,” the couple wrote in a statement.

“It is great to see the mental health sector working together with the NHS to help people keep on top of their mental well-being. By pulling together and taking simple steps each day, we can all be better prepared for the times ahead.”

The couple also video-called teachers and support staff at the Casterton Primary Academy in Lancashire last week to thank them for providing a place for children of frontline carers to be.

“Well done honestly to you and everyone who’s in during this time. It must be such a relief for all the parents who are key workers to know that the normality is there for their children – they’ve got the structure and they’ve got a safe place for them to be, so really, really well done to all of you,” Kate said during the call.

It was also announced last week that SHOUT, the text crisis-line for those seeking help with their mental health, will be partnering on a project for NHS workers to text FRONTLINE to 85258 to receive guidance from a trained professional.

William announced earlier this week that he’d become patron of the National Emergencies Trust for 2020 after helping the Trust launch its appeal in March. His announcement was made at the same time as video was released of him talking to charities in Yorkshire and Powys, Wales, about the work they’re doing to support frontline efforts.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.