New Delhi: Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, spoke about their life under lockdown and the stress on frontline National Health Service (NHS) workers during an interview to BBC Friday.
Prince William also said he was concerned for his 71-year-old father, Prince Charles, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He, however, said he was optimistic about his father making a full recovery.
“I have to admit, at first I was quite concerned, he fits the profile of somebody, at the age he is at, which is fairly risky,” Prince William said.
He added, “My father has had many chest infections, colds, and things like that over the years. And so, I thought to myself, if anybody is going to be able to beat this, it’s going to be him.”
Prince William also said he was worried about the health of his elderly grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who are in isolation at the Windsor Castle.
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‘Extraordinary job by NHS staff’
The royal couple spoke about the frontline NHS staff in Britain who have been working tirelessly during the pandemic.
“The extraordinary job NHS staff and other frontline workers are doing during the coronavirus pandemic will dramatically change how we value them in the future,” Middleton said.
The couple expressed concerned about the mental health of frontline workers who have to absorb the pain, fear and loneliness suffered by coornavirus patients.
“They are the ones who absorb that and take it home to their families,” Prince William said.
The couple had last week (8 April) also hosted a round-table on mental health via video conferencing app Zoom.
On Thursday, Prince William opened a new NHS hospital entirely dedicated to coronavirus-affected patients in Birmingham via a video link. He also chatted with the NHS workers through video conferencing and praised them for their work.
Earlier this month, his father, Prince Charles, had also virtually opened a hospital in London.
In touch via video conferencing apps
Even though the couple said they had been through “ups and downs” during the lockdown, they have remained in touch with other family members via video conferencing apps.
“It’s really hard, particularly over family times like Easter and things like that, and not seeing each other. So we have been making sure we share in on birthday calls and things like that just to make sure we keep in touch with each other,” Middleton said.
On Thursday, Prince William’s younger brother and Duke of Sussex Prince Harry made a Zoom call to parents of seriously-ill children in the UK. He also spoke about the additional challenges these parents have had to face due to the lockdown in Britain.
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