The Queen and other members of the Royal Family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, surprised front-line health-care workers with a heartwarming message during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video shared to the family’s official Twitter account, Her Majesty can be heard talking about the importance of International Nurses Day on a phone call.
“This is rather an important day,” the 94-year-old monarch says. “They’ve obviously had a very important part to play recently.”
As the message continues, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince William, Middleton, Princess Anne and Sophie, Countess of Wessex take the opportunity to send their thanks to nurses.
“On this International Nurses Day, my family and I want to join the chorus of thank you to nursing and midwifery staff all over the country and, indeed, the world,” Prince Charles, the future king, says.
The touching footage shows Middleton, Princess Anne and the countess chatting with nurses about what it’s like on the ground as the world battles the rapidly spreading virus.
“You’re a huge inspiration to everybody,” Middleton says.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you’re doing,” William chimes in.
The video comes in the wake of Middleton launching a coronavirus-themed lockdown photography project.
On Thursday, she announced the launch of her new community project called Hold Still in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery of London, one of her many patronages.
The announcement was made in a tweet from Kensington Palace asking people “to help capture the spirit, the hopes, the fears and feelings of the U.K. as we continue to deal with the coronavirus. #HoldStill2020.”
Of the final entries, 100 of the shortlisted portraits will be featured in a gallery without walls, “a one-of-a-kind digital exhibition open to all this August.”
The program is open to people of all ages and abilities in the U.K. and is free to enter. Photographs can be taken on phones or cameras, and each image “will be assessed on the emotion and experience it conveys, rather than its photographic quality.”
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