Prince William and Duchess Kate recently sat down for a virtual discussion with a group that's providing a crucial service during the pandemic! As People shares, William and Kate had a video call with care workers in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, showing support while listening to their experiences of helping people cope with grief.
William and Kate listened to emergency workers' struggles
William and Kate heard stories from various first responders as well as people within the field of social care during the conversation, becoming aware of just how taxing the pandemic is on emergency service personnel. And as People mentions, one of the care workers they talked to represented an initiative that received a generous donation from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Royal Foundation COVID-19 Response Fund!
"The phrases and the words we hear time and time again are 'exhaustion,' 'relentless,' 'there's so much death, when is it going to finish,'" said Tony Collins, who handles calls through Hospice UK's mental health and grief hotline "Just B". Collins explained to People that hearing about the emotional struggles of those on the frontline "struck a chord" with the royal couple.
William and Kate "quite passionate" about mental health
William and Kate's conversation shifted gears over the duration of the call, which Collins said lasted for more than an hour! He explained that it had initially begun "around what sort of calls we were receiving and moved into the area of who had been making those calls – those in the emergency services who are struggling with so much to deal with."
"It also became a good conversation about what else needs to be done and what prevents people from accessing the support that's there," Collins continued, mentioning how William expressed he was "absolutely passionate about driving forward further about mandatory emotional support in the workplace."
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William and Kate are known to be outspoken advocates of mental health, having launched the initiative Our Frontline early on in the pandemic as a resource for first responders. And according to Collins, it was apparent to him during the video call how much the topic means to the royal couple!
"I found them to be extremely approachable and very well-informed and clearly quite passionate about the subject of emotional wellbeing and mental health and resilience," Collins said of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. "This may seem strange to say, but it felt like a very real conversation and it went into some depth and they seemed genuinely interested."
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