Zoom calls have become the new norm when working from home, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are getting to grips with video conferencing tools just like the rest of us. To mark Volunteers’ Week this week, the couple dialled in from Norfolk to chat remotely to people in the UK who have been lending a hand to charity efforts during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The warm weather has provided some much-needed good cheer in the midst of the ongoing health crisis, and Kate, who has been isolating with William and their three children at their countryside retreat, Anmer Hall, has migrated to a summer wardrobe of floaty dresses and sherbet shades as the UK basks in glorious sunshine. This week was no exception, and the Duchess reached for a summery classic for the Zoom calls: her M.i.h Jeans white broderie anglaise blouse.
Kate accessorised the shirt, which she previously wore on an outing to the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, with simple gold hoop earrings, and swept her hair back into a business-like ponytail. She and William spoke with two organisations: Conscious Youth in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, and Machynlleth Community Corona Response in Powys, Wales.
On the call to Conscious Youth – founded in 2016, it aims to enhance the emotional resilience of young people in Kirklees – the royal couple spoke to two volunteers from the organisation about how they’ve had to adapt the way they work in light of the changes brought about by coronavirus.
During a second call to Machynlleth Community Corona Response, the couple heard from members of its 100-strong team of volunteers, who are helping to produce visors, scrubs and face masks during the pandemic. “It’s National Volunteering Week and I want to say a big thank you from both of us,” says Prince William in a clip from the video call shared by Kensington Palace. “Thank you for all the volunteering you’re doing, thank you for all the time and effort you’re putting in. It’s been hugely rewarding and important that you guys are doing that, and you have been a lifeline to all the people who you’ve helped in the area.”
The Duchess – who has also been making “check in and chat” calls to people who are self-isolating or vulnerable as part of the Royal Voluntary Service’s NHS Volunteer Responders scheme – told them: “One of the things that would be amazing is if everyone in their communities was to carry on and still celebrate volunteering in a way that they have been during the pandemic. Everyone’s got something to give back.”
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