The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen playing Bingo with residents at a care home as they spoke to frontline workers during a Zoom call today.
Kate Middleton, 38, recycled a £325 floral L.K. Bennett dress and £165 gold leaf Catherine Zoraida earrings as she joined Prince William in speaking to care workers across the UK, to hear about their experiences of providing care during the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking from their home in Amner Hall, Norfolk, where they are isolating, they thanked them for their tireless efforts to continue to look after the most vulnerable in our society.
And Kate was seen beaming as she drew a number 19 during a game of Bingo with residents from the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff via video call as they played in the home’s cinema.
During the chat, William admitted he was ‘particularly’ worried about young and ‘implications of school being missed’ during corona crisis.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen playing Bingo with residents at a care home as they spoke to frontline workers during a Zoom call today. Kate Middleton, 38, recycled a £325 floral L.K. Bennett dress and £165 gold leaf Catherine Zoraida earrings as she joined Prince William in speaking to care workers across the UK
Shire Hall provides residential, nursing and dementia care and is part of Hallmark Care Homes, a family-run care provider with 19 care homes across England and Wales.
The Duke and Duchess took their turn as guest bingo callers for one of the games, before speaking to some of the residents and their care workers.
Before the game, The Duke and Duchess heard from members of the care team about the impact of Covid-19 and the challenges that they have faced as a result of the pandemic.
They also heard how the home has adapted to the current circumstances, including greater use of technology to allow residents to stay in touch with their families and friends.
Kate was seen beaming as she drew a number 19 during a game of Bingo with residents from the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff via video call as they played in the home’s cinema
Using a bingo spinner, the royals giggled while taking turns holding up balls to the screen, calling out the numbers in ‘bingo lingo’ as they joined residents Margaret Stocks, Margaret Jones, Ray Donoghue and Joan Drew-Smith for a game.
William told them: ‘Catherine is going to pick out the first ball,’ as Kate held it up to the screen for the residents to see, as she announced: ‘So, the first number is five and eight, 58.’
William then chose a ball and held it up to the screen, calling out: ‘One little duck, number two,’ followed by Kate calling out the next two balls: ‘Eight and seven, 87. Six and two, tickety-boo.’
Hearing Ms Drew-Smith call out ‘I won!’ the couple clapped, and William congratulated her.
‘Hi Joan,’ said Kate. ‘Well done!’
‘How did we do at bingo? We did OK?’ asked William.
‘Very good,’ said Ms Drew Smith, before adding: ‘Wasn’t as good as it should have been,’ prompting more giggles from William and Kate.
Shire Hall provides residential, nursing and dementia care and is part of Hallmark Care Homes, a family-run care provider with 19 care homes across England and Wales
The ladies were all residents at the Shire Hall Care Home, in Cardiff, with William and Kate calling in by video link from their Norfolk home.
Mrs Stocks described William and Kate’s call as ‘amazing’ and ‘a wonderful afternoon’ which she was ‘happy to be part of’.
‘We’ll say a big thank-you and goodbye to everybody. We’ll try and do a bit better at bingo next time,’ William signed off.
Shire Hall is part of the Hallmark Cark Homes group, a family-run business which provides residential, nursing and dementia care to more than 1,000 residents across locations in England and South Wales. It is currently home to 87 residents aged from 58 to 99.
Before joining the bingo game, the couple spoke with some of Shire Hall’s staff, including Karen Grapes, the general manager since 2008.
The couple heard about the impact of Covid-19 and the challenges they have faced during the pandemic, including greater use of technology to keep residents in touch with their loved ones.
Karen told them: ‘It has been quite a hard couple of months, I must be honest. I’ve been in the care home industry here for 12 years in Shire Hall and worked for Hallmark and we’ve never, ever – as you can imagine – come across anything quite like this. ‘
William asked: ‘So you’re doing a lot more hours, you’re a lot more involved, I guess, and are there a lot more than normal. How is that, plus the sort of responsibilities you all have now with keeping all the PPE kit on and everything else? Is that worrying?’
Karen told him: ‘We’ve sort of grown into it because to start off with it was just the hand washing and the masks, and then it was the aprons, then it was gloves, then it was, you know, all the extras that go on on top.’
Today William also held a video call with care workers from different parts of the sector across England, including those providing care within people’s homes, personal assistance, and supported living services
She said later that one of their biggest challenges was the safety around new admissions.
‘That is a bit of a challenge. Obviously we have to make sure they’re safe admissions if we’re bringing anybody in and they have to be isolated for 14 days. Making sure that they’ve got a negative test,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately we do have deaths within the care home and it is distressing for all concerned. But we have some residents that do have some serious underlying health conditions and some of them were already on end of life when this pandemic started.
‘We haven’t had any problems with PPE. We’ve had plenty of PPE all along, Unfortunately there have been some care providers across the country that have been affected. But we haven’t been as affected as them and we do appreciate that.’
Harriet Boobyer, the senior care assistant and dementia co-ordinator, described how she is helping residents to stay in touch with their loved ones.
‘A lot of our residents are living with dementia. It’s hard for them to understand 100% what’s going on outside. They just see it as they haven’t seen their families. So we’re working on just making sure that we still have that connection with them,’ she explained.
On Wednesday, William spoke to members of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, one of the largest integrated health and social care trusts in the UK, and heard how staff are supporting service users and the bereaved through these challenging times.
Those on the video call also highlighted the unique challenges that young people in care face when schools are closed and normal life has significantly changed.
Today William also held a video call with care workers from different parts of the sector across England, including those providing care within people’s homes, personal assistance, and supported living services.
The Duke heard about the measures that they have taken to ensure that they can continue to deliver care throughout the coronavirus outbreak, including by self-isolating from their own families.
The participants discussed the impact that these measures have had on their own mental wellbeing, and the crucial need to support social care workers on the frontline of the coronavirus.
Kate last wore her pink £325 ‘Madison’ midi dress by L.K. Bennett, which boasts short floaty sleeves and a delicate pattern, as she watched William and Harry play in the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day for the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Trophy at Billingbear Polo Club alongside Meghan last July
The Duke also heard about the work that is being carried out by The Care Workers Charity to help those across the social care sector.
During the call, William said: ‘If there’s hopefully some positivity that comes out of this horrendous time, it is that there’s a light shone on all of the wonderful things you all do and on the social care sector, and it allows people to acknowledge, respect and appreciate everything that you are doing.’
In April Kate wore a £165 Catherine Zoraida earrings for her first royal engagement via video call to school children whose parents are working on the frontline.
It’s believed the Duchess first wore the earrings in 2012, but has been spotted in the earrings on dozens of occasions since, including in four times in 2019.
Catherine Zoraida set up her small, self-titled firm in 2011 and was virtually unknown until the Duchess of Cambridge asked to see some pieces the following year.
Kate last wore her pink £325 ‘Madison’ midi dress by L.K. Bennett, which boasts short floaty sleeves and a delicate pattern, as she watched William and Harry play in the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day for the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Trophy at Billingbear Polo Club alongside Meghan last July.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore a £165 Catherine Zoraida earrings and a £29.99 Zara jumper for her first royal engagement via video call to school children whose parents are working on the frontline