The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their first joint public engagement since lockdown to celebrate the 72nd birthday of the NHS on Sunday (July 5).
William and Kate visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, to thank staff for their efforts in helping their community during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cambridge family have been staying at their Georgian country home of Amner Hall in Norfolk, on the Queen's Sandringham estate, since March.
During their engagement, the royal couple chatted to staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to manage the hospital in the wake of the pandemic, including medical staff, catering and operational staff, and former staff members who have returned from retirement to support the COVID-19 effort.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital – which marks its 40th anniversary on July 22 – treats more than 330,000 people across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, and has tended to 450 patients with coronavirus.
The duchess wore a blue silk dress for the engagement from one of her favourite brands, Beulah London.
William and Kate have been fulfilling royal duties during the crisis with video calls to care homes and hospitals, speaking with NHS staff, patients and care home residents impacted by the pandemic.
On Friday (3 July), the duke visited a local pub in Norfolk ahead of lockdown measures easing in the UK over the weekend. William wished staff at The Rose and Crown in Snettisham well and heard how they have adapted their operations in order to allow them to return to a new normal. Pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen on Saturday, July 4.
Last week, the duchess joined families from East Anglia's Children's Hospices at one of their hospices near Norwich. She worked alongside a volunteer gardener, staff and two families to help create a new garden.
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