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How Kate Middleton and Prince William Are Using Social Media to Connect During Coronavirus

How Kate Middleton and Prince William Are Using Social Media to Connect During Coronavirus

Kate Middleton and Prince William are turning to social media to connect with the public amid the coronavirus pandemic.

From supporting Queen Elizabeth’s groundbreaking speech on Instagram to having their three children take part in a viral hashtag, the royal couple is finding new ways to support their royal work.

On March 20, William and Kate highlighted their visit to an emergency call center to show support for emergency workers who are helping to keep people well-informed about the illness as it continues to spread.

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Kensington Palace/PA Images

They also shared a clip on Instagram from their surprise call to hospital staffers fighting the pandemic in the U.K.

“We’d just like to say from the two of us how proud we are of all of you and how amazingly you are all doing under extreme circumstances,” Prince William said during the call.

They even gave a peek inside their palace home offices as they showcased their royal work behind the scenes.

“The last few weeks have been anxious and unsettling for everyone. We have to take time to support each other and find ways to look after our mental health,” the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who have long been advocates for mental health, said in a statement.

Both William and Kate spoke with leaders in the mental health sector over the phone. William had a call with Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind, while Kate spoke to Catherine Roche, CEO of Place2Be. (Both Mind and Place2be are charities included in the royal couple’s Heads Together campaign.)

They have also gotten their kids — Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4 and Prince Louis, who turns 2 on April 23, to take part. On March 26, they shared a sweet video of the kids enthusiastically clapping for all those helping patients affected by coronavirus as they joined in on a viral hashtag initiative amid the pandemic.

“To all the doctors, nurses, carers, GPs, pharmacists, volunteers and other NHS staff working tirelessly to help those affected by #COVID19: thank you,” the video was captioned, along with the hashtags ##ClapForOurCarers, #ClapForCarers, #ThankYouNHS and #ClapForNHS.

The rest of the royal family are also continuing their work online. On April 3, Prince Charles took part in a virtual opening ceremony for a field hospital in London serving coronavirus patients — marking the first time a member of the royal family has performed an opening ceremony remotely.

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William and Kate have also recently expanded their social team by hiring a new digital communications lead who previously worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said goodbye to their @SussexRoyal Instagram account last week with a final post ahead of their royal exit.

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William and Kate have over 11.5 million followers on their joint KensingtonRoyal Instagram account and over 11.9 million followers on Twitter.