Coronavirus: Prince William is lifting Britain’s spirits during lockdown

While Harry and Meghan were busy deciding which media they would - and wouldn’t - talk to, William and Kate were just getting on with talking to everyone.

William and Kate praised NHS staff and other key workers for doing an "amazing job" when they met their children during the virtual royal visit. Picture: Kensington Palace via AP

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Like monarchs down a long line of history, Prince William has proved himself strongest as his country faces its darkest hours.

Grabbing the baton for the royal family, William, wife Kate, and their joyful young family have led by example, with their knack of instinctively understanding the mood of the nation, The Sun reported.

This was perhaps seen best on Thursday when William, 37, poked fun at himself in a comedy sketch before heading outside with Kate and children George, six, Charlotte, four, and two-year-old Louis, to clap for carers.

It was sure to have warmed all but the coldest of republican hearts.

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William and Kate spoke to these kids on a video call with staff and teachers from Casterton Primary Academy in Burnley, England which has remained open to teach children of key workers and other vulnerable youngsters. Picture: Kensington Palace via AP

William and Kate praised NHS staff and other key workers for doing an "amazing job" when they met their children during the virtual royal visit. Picture: Kensington Palace via AP

William is also finding the right words at the right time to inspire the country.

“I think Britain is at its best, weirdly, when we’re all in a ­crisis,” he recently told a Yorkshire food bank charity event.

“That community spirit and community feel comes rushing back.”

With Prince Charles hit by coronavirus and the Queen turning 94 this week, there is even more pressure on William to shine.

He has risen to the challenge like the future king he is.

His success has revitalised a family reeling from the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal claims surrounding Prince Andrew, which William’s uncle denies.

And from the decision by younger brother Harry to throw off the royal yoke for a new life in the Californian sunshine.

While Harry and Meghan were busy issuing their bulletin on which media they would and would not talk to, William and Kate, 38, were just getting on with talking to everyone.

Their down-to-earth attitude has been reflected by other royals, too.

Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince Louis of Cambridge clap for NHS carers as part of the BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief 'Big Night In at London’ on April 23, 2020 in London, England. Picture: Comic Relief/BBC Children in Need/Comic Relief via Getty Images

On Monday, Prince Phillip — who turns 99 in June — came out of retirement to make a rare statement, in which he praised the key workers tackling the pandemic and ensuring the “infrastructure of our life continues” during the crisis.

On Thursday Prince Charles joined wife Camilla to clap for the NHS from his Birkhall home in Scotland.

It was a poignant moment as it was the first time the couple have taken part in the applause publicly together as Charles has been self-isolating until he recovered from the virus.

It has meant a lonely time for Camilla.

A sign encouraging people to stay at home is displayed on a bus stop along Victoria Street, central London on April 17, 2020. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP

As a patron of the Silver Line helpline for older people, she told one caller: “I really miss my grandchildren.

“That’s the really strange thing about it — not being able to see your grandchildren and giving them a hug.”

William and Kate have been quick to make NHS staff the “top priority” of their campaigning.

They have launched a crisis line for frontline workers, opened a Nightingale Hospital and used Skype and Zoom online to chat with charity workers and schoolchildren.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.