Coronavirus: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis join 'Clap for Carers'
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have joined the nationwide Clap for Carers initiative as Britons joined together to thank NHS workers.
Kensington Royal shared a video of the three young royals, who are being homeschooled along with children around the country, clapping in praise of those responding to the coronavirus crisis.
Their parents, Prince William and Kate thanked staff at an NHS 111 call centre in Croydon last week.
Read more: Coronavirus: Prince William and Kate praise NHS staff in visit to 111 call centre
The Cambridges shared the video as thousands of people went to their front doors across the country to clap and cheer for carers, an initiative which started online and has spread far and wide.
The three young royals were seen clapping in their garden earlier in the day. The caption said: “To all the doctors, nurses, carers, GPs, pharmacists, volunteers and other NHS staff working tirelessly to help those affected by #COVID19: thank you. #ClapForOurCarers #ClapForCarers #ThankYouNHS #ClapForNHS”
Prince Louis, who is rarely seen yet because he is so young, stood proudly between his older brother and sister.
The video was filmed at Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home, where they will be spending the next few weeks.
The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and their staff all separately joined in with a round of applause at Birkhall in Scotland.
Clapping and cheering also took place at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are staying.
#ClapForOurCarers #ClapforNHS from Windsor Castle!
👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/gbk4c3FgjH— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 26, 2020
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Before it took place, the Royal Family also encouraged people to join in, adding photos to their Instagram story of the Queen meeting nurses, doctors, scientists and emergency and public service workers over the years.
They shared a video of Edward and Sophie Wessex and their children, Lady Louise and James, the Viscount Severn, clapping. Edward thanked staff and said: “Keep up the good work”.
Ahead of the planned Clap for Carers, Ruth May, chief nursing officer of the NHS said it left her feeling “very humble, very proud, and a clap for our carers will mean so much for all of our NHS staff and social care teams as well. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Read more: Prince William launches emergency coronavirus appeal for local charities
While Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended the Christmas Day service at Sandringham with their parents, Prince Louis is not yet old enough.
He does however attend Trooping the Colour, where he delights royal fans on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
His older siblings will be having lessons at home now that schools across the country are closed to all but the children of key workers.
Their applause comes as their grandfather, Prince Charles, battles "mild symptoms" of coronavirus.
The Prince of Wales confirmed he had COVID-19 on Wednesday, but was working at his desk on Thursday.
He has spoken to his sons William and Harry since being diagnosed.
As the nation applauded, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “On behalf of the whole country, I want to thank all the incredible nurses, doctors, NHS support staff & carers who are working flat out to fight coronavirus 👏 #ClapForOurCarers #ClapForNHS To help them, and protect the NHS, we need everyone to stay at home #StayHomeSaveLives”
Notable buildings were also lit up in blue for the salute as part of the #lightitblue campaign which has been organised by members of the events and entertainment industry as a way to say thank you.
