Royal family pay tribute to ‘incredible’ Aussie nurses on coronavirus frontline
The royal family has undertaken their first ever public joint “zoom” video call to thank healthcare workers across the world, including some Aussies, on International Nurses’ Day.
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The royal family have joined forces in paying tribute to the “incredible” healthcare workers in Australia and across the world on International Nurses’ Day.
In a video released by Buckingham Palace, the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Alexandra are all shown speaking to nurses from around the world and thanked them for the “incredible work they do daily”.
Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex also spoke to three Queensland nurses at Gidgee Healing who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
From The Queen and The Royal Family this #InternationalNursesDay: thank you. 💛🙌
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 12, 2020
Read more here: https://t.co/WraSKu8wAd pic.twitter.com/rUrvWzR5Po
Kate said she “would love to hear what it’s been like on the ground” and was told it has been “as hectic as it has been around the world”.
The Australian nurses said they had been “feeling the love” from the local community.
The calls were facilitated by Nursing Now, an organisation of which Kate is Patron. She wrote an open letter to the group thanking them for their work.
“The crucial, and often unsung, role that nurses play in global health care is needed now more than ever. In this, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, healthcare workers are facing unprecedented challenges in the fight against the global pandemic,” she said.
The Queen, meanwhile, thanked the nurses for “keeping the show on the road” during the coronavirus pandemic.
They released a “chorus” of gratitude to the medical profession in what was the first “zoom” video call by members of the royal family, reports The Sun.
It started with audio of the Queen, speaking to Professor Kathleen McCourt, the president of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, of which The Queen is patron.
“This is rather an important day,” said the Queen. “They [nurses] have obviously had a very important part to play recently.”
The audio was followed by footage of the rest of the working Royal Family in a five-minute series of calls as they paid tribute to nurses’ “incredible work”.
The Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex joined forces to speak together to nurses as far afield as India, Australia, Malawi, Cyprus, the Bahamas and Sierra Leone, as well as in the UK.
Kate said: “I don’t know how you manage to do this and keep the show on the road despite the extra pressures you’re all under and the challenging conditions – it’s just shown how vital the role that nurses play across the world. You should be so proud of the work that you do.”
‘FEELING THE LOVE’
She called it “amazing” the nurses were still able to continue their support and care during the coronavirus crisis.
Sophie told some of the nurses: “I hope you’re feeling some of the love as well”.
Prince Charles, in an excerpt from his video message to all nurses, said: “On this International Nurses’ Day, my family and I want to join in the chorus of thank-yous to nursing and midwifery staff across the country and indeed the world.”
Camilla, who recorded messages of support for nurses from the Royal Naval Medical Service and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children Charity, said: “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Kate and Sophie also chatted with HIV and maternal health nurses at the Phalombe District Hospital in Malawi; mental health nurses at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre in Nassau in the Bahamas, those working at Aberdeen Women’s Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and the LV Prasad Eye Institute and Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.
Anita Kamara, fistula supervisor and nurse at the women’s centre in Sierra Leone, said: “Having the future Queen and the countess speak to us was really special.”
The duchess and Sophie went on to speak to staff at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, of which Kate is patron.
Sophie is Colonel in-Chief, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, and with Kate, called Army nurses from the Corps stationed in Cyprus.
The Duke of Cambridge last week talked to nurses at the Royal Marsden, of which he is patron, and Princess Alexandra spoke with the head of the Naval Nursing Service.
Meanwhile the Princess Royal called Tanzania to speak with the program manager of a medical ship that provides facilities for those with little or no access to medical care.
International Nurses Day takes place on Florence Nightingale’s birthday – and this year is the 200th anniversary of Nightingale’s birth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not take part in the video.
Many of the nurses were seen wearing face masks, as they spoke to the royals about the impact of the coronavirus.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “On every call, the royal family reiterated their thanks to nurses across the Commonwealth for the incredible work they do on a daily basis.”
Originally published as Royal family pay tribute to ‘incredible’ Aussie nurses on coronavirus frontline