Prince William, Kate Middleton pivot charity to focus on coronavirus relief aid
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Prince William and Kate Middleton are doing all they can to help others during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge updated their charitable foundation's website and announced that it “will do all it can to support those on the frontline of responding to COVID-19 in the U.K.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the coming weeks, the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will work "to connect our partners with those who are able to provide practical support to frontline responders and their families, do 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, and playing our part in the national effort to thank and celebrate all those working on the frontline of this crisis."
The website's homepage was also updated to reflect the new focus of the charity. It features the couple on its visit to the London Ambulance Service on March 20.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}William and Kate have been showing their support for the frontline workers in the healthcare industry. They have been making phone calls to different hospitals in the U.K. to thank the health care professionals for their bravery and hard work during the outbreak.
“We’d just like to say from the two of us how proud we are of all of you and how amazingly you are all doing under extreme circumstances,” William told doctors and nurses at the Burton hospital, according to a statement from Kensington Palace.
PRINCE WILLIAM, KATE MIDDLETON CALL FRONTLINE DOCTORS, NURSES AT HOSPITALS FIGHTING CORONAVIRUS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I know all of you see this as your job and that you get on with it, but this is a different level and you are doing an incredible job. The whole country is proud of you so thank you for everything you’re doing and all the hours you are putting in.”
In a snippet of conversations had between the pair and hospital staff from another hospital, University Hospital Monklands in North Lanarkshire, Middleton empathized with the predicament they have since found themselves in.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“You’re stretched in all sorts of ways looking after the patients in your care under such extreme circumstances,” she said. “But you also need to be able to make sure you support yourselves and each other. It must be so hard but I’m glad to hear that you’re currently getting all the support you need.”
William and Kate also made video calls to teachers who are keeping schools open for children of essential workers.
“We just want to say a huge thank you to you guys and well done in keeping it all going,” William told the educators. “Please pass on many messages of support for all the staff and all the volunteers – they’re doing a great job.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Britain, the death toll passed 10,600. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first major world leader to test positive for the virus, paid an emotional tribute to the country’s National Health Service after leaving the hospital on Sunday. Johnson, who spent three nights in intensive care, especially thanked two nurses who stood by his bedside for 48 hours “when things could have gone either way.”
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More than 1.8 million coronavirus infections have been reported and over 114,000 people have died worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The figures understate the true size and toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing, uneven counting of the dead and deliberate under-counting by some governments.
Fox News' Julius Young and the Associated Press contributed to this report.