Back to business! Kate Middleton dons a smart grey blazer for her first engagement of 2021 as she joins Prince William to speak to frontline workers about bereavement support
- Kate Middleton sported a smart grey blazer for her first engagement of 2021
- Joined Prince William to speak to frontline workers about bereavement support
- Heard mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis for those working on frontline
The Duchess of Cambridge stunned in a smart grey blazer teamed with a chic hairdo for her first engagement of 2021.
Kate, 39, ditched her usual loose curls for a slicked back classic style when appearing on a video call alongside Prince William yesterday.
The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Cambridge, who are based in Kensington Palace with their three children, Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, chatted with frontline workers and counsellors about bereavement support.
William spoke candidly about how seeing people die when he was an air ambulance pilot left him traumatised ‘for weeks on end’ and feeling the world was a ‘darker, blacker place’.
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge heard about the crucial mental health support being provided for frontline workers during the pandemic by Hospice UK’s Just ‘B’ counselling and bereavement support line on Wednesday
Kate appeared ready for business when appearing on the call, which saw her question the frontline workers on what more could be done to convince their colleagues of the importance of prioritising themselves for help with mental health.
She put on a stylish display in a Smythe grey blazer with black collar detail, paired with a simple black top.
Kate’s contrast collar blazer appears to be one of her favourite Smythe styles, after she also wore it during an engagement in Essex in 2018.
Appearing on the call yesterday, Prince William looked just as smart in a navy blazer teamed with a blue jumper.
Drawing on his own experiences speaking to frontline workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Prince William admitted his previous work regularly affected his ‘family life’ and said he ‘really worries’ about the impact on staff now at seeing ‘such high levels of sadness, trauma and death.’
Kate (pictured right), 39, ditched her usual loose curls for a slicked back classic style when appearing on a video call alongside Prince William yesterday
Pictured, top row (L-R): – Carly Kennard, Jules Lockett, Conal Devitt and Manal Sadik. Middle row (L-R): – Phil Spencer, Tony Collins and Caroline Francis
Kate’s contrast collar blazer appears to be one of her favourite Smythe styles, after she also wore it during an engagement in Essex in 2018 (pictured)
The royal, who worked alongside doctors and paramedics providing emergency medical treatment at the East Anglian Air Ambulance, spoke out in a video call conversation to front line workers and counsellors about bereavement support.
William said: ‘Some of it I noticed from my previous spell flying with the air ambulance with the team.
‘When you see so much death and so much bereavement it does impact how you see the world. It is very interesting what you said about being able to see things in a different light.
‘I think you said about thinking everyone around you is going to die, that is what really worries me about the front line staff at the moment.
‘That you are so under the cosh at the moment and so pressurised and you’re seeing such high levels of sadness, trauma, death, that it impacts your own life and your own family life because it is always there.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were last seen with their children attending a special pantomime performance at London’s Palladium Theatre in December (pictured)
‘You’re so drawn into it, which everyone is, it is only natural that would happen. But that’s what I think a lot of the public don’t understand, that when you’re surrounded by that level of intense trauma and sadness and bereavement.
‘It really does, it stays with you, at home it stays with you for weeks on end, doesn’t it, and you see the world in a much more, slightly depressed, darker, blacker place.’
The royal couple both stressed it is vital that frontline personnel – including the police, who suffer from the stigma of having to enforce lockdown restrictions – reach out for support at this critical time and that the stigma surrounding seeking help for their mental health must end.
Prince William went on: ‘This is an unprecedented time we are all facing. I think that really needs to be nailed home right now is that this is like nothing before that anyone has ever seen, particularly this third wave we are going through right now.
The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured) has said her thoughts are with workers on the frontline of the pandemic. Pictured, on royal train tour in December
‘People need to understand how you are normal human beings doing a brilliant job in a very, very difficult time and I hope this service gives people the outlet that they need.
‘I fear, like you said, you’re all so busy caring for everyone else that you won’t take enough time to care for yourselves and we won’t see the impacts for quite some time.’
The call on Wednesday also highlighted how William and Kate’s Royal Foundation was helping to provide financial support through its Covid-19 Response Fund.
The foundation has partnered with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the Department of Health and Social Care to help fund Hospice UK’s Just ‘B’ support line, which supports NHS staff, social care workers, carers and all emergency services personnel.
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