The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began their first Royal Train tour on Sunday evening from the Euston Station in London. Kensington Palace announced the tour yesterday. The tour will be covering 1250 miles, making 10 stops, in England, Scotland and Wales in three days. William and Catherine will be attending working visits meeting frontline workers, volunteers, care-home staff, teachers, schoolchildren and young people to hear about their experiences, sacrifices and inspiring work they have done through this challenging year.
Ahead of the tour Palace said,
The Duke and Duchess are very much looking forward to shining a spotlight on the incredible work that has been done across the country throughout the difficult year and to sharing their gratitude on behalf of the nation for all those supporting their local communities ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Prince William and Catherine met with the transport workers at Euston station in Central London and heard about their experiences and lives during the pandemic. The Royal Couple passed on their thanks to Transport for London, Network Rail and train operating companies for everything they have done to keep the capital running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. From Hello’s report,
“The Duke told Alero Abbey, TfL area manager for Green Park and Euston: “It’s moments like this when people really appreciate what you do every day. Suddenly we all know what you do and that you do a really good job.
The couple appeared shocked to hear from London Overground driver Glyn Smith, who told them he had managed to avoid hitting a young child on the line in June.
“You saved his life?” the Duke asked. “How fast were you going at the time?” Mr Smith told them he was driving at around 20mph, adding: “It could have been so much worse.” “Well done,” the Duke said. “Very impressive.“
The three days long tour began with a performance of 80’s Pop singer Shaky Stevens who sang ‘This Ole House of Windsor’ and hit song ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ for the Royal couple and railway staff. From Mirror’s report,
The singer said he was “over the moon” to be playing for the Duke and Duchess, revealing that it was the first time he had played for royalty in his long career. “I’m loving it, it was lovely to be invited,” he said. “And it was they who chose the song. Over the moon.”
Stevens said the Cambridges were “certainly fans” of his festive hit, adding: “They picked it!” Asked how he felt when he got the call asking him to perform for the couple, he added: “Absolutely hanging from the moon.”
He said of the decision to travel around the country thanking those who have made sacrifices this year: “It’s lovely to give back, isn’t it? It’s nice to give back and they are leading the way. “It needs something to cheer us up, doesn’t it? Because what we’ve got, we don’t know how long it’s going to go on for, so you have got to keep your pecker up.”
Before leaving, The Duchess of Cambridge wrote a message on the service board for the transport workers that read, “Thank you to transport workers everywhere for keeping the country moving throughout this difficult year.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! ”
Kensington Palace
It was signed by both William & Catherine.
The locations of the stops are going to remain embargoed throughout the tour, But given the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing her York Scarves’ Maple Leaf Tartan Scarf I believe they are heading towards Edinburgh in Scotland. The tour is an opportunity for the couple to pass on the sincere thanks and gratitude to those who put their lives on the line to keep the country and community safe during the pandemic. The three days long Royal train tour is going to celebrate community spirit and demonstrate the impact of the UK people’s generosity by showcasing organizations and initiatives that have been supported by community relief funds, including NHS charities. Read more about the tour details here.
The Sun reported another amazing initiative of The Duchess. The Duchess of Cambridge has secretly been volunteering during the Covid pandemic, making phone calls to 85-year-old full-time carer Len Gardner. From Sun’s report,
Kate, 38, and Len were connected earlier in the year by the Royal Voluntary Service, which The Sun has partnered with this year for our Christmas Together appeal to tackle loneliness. During two lengthy conversations during the first lockdown, Kate chatted away to her new friend about making pasta and taking her children to watch sheep shearing.
Len, from Batley, West Yorks, said: “Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be talking on the phone to the future Queen of England. I will treasure our conversations for the rest of my life. Those calls helped me because they gave me something to look forward to.”
Len, who has bladder cancer and has been having radio-therapy and last week had an operation, is a carer for his wife Shirley, 84, who has Alzheimer’s.
Kate’s first call came on May 13, while the royals were locked down at their country estate, Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Len, who spent his life working in the textile industry, said: “I was flabbergasted when I found out who would be calling. The first question I asked was, ‘How do I address you?’ She said, ‘Call me Catherine’.
“After the first two sentences I didn’t feel like I was talking to someone so important.” The pair talked about Len’s love of Italian food and Kate asked if he made his own pasta.
Grandad Len, who has two grown-up sons, Ian, 57, and Andrew, 54, said: “I said I don’t, because I haven’t got a pasta machine and in any case, you have to use a special flour.
“About three days after our conversation, a brand new pasta machine arrived from the Duchess. Two days later I got two kilos of ‘00’ (the Italian grading system) flour from Buckingham Palace.
“I can tell you, this lady you see on television that goes into the crowds and talks to people — what you see is what you get. She is a very, very nice person.”
Kensington Palace commissioned a 10-year old Joe (The Doodle Boy) to visually represent the tour. Joe shared a video of him designing the doodle representing the royal tour. Joe is selling copies of the doodle on his website for £49.
This is the first time when Catherine will be travelling on the Royal train. From Sky News report, “For Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, a single set of “Royal Train” carriages were formed for the first time and have remained in service ever since. The locomotives that power the train are capable of speeds up to 125mph, but when they are on Royal duty they are restricted to 100mph.” The train is environment friendly. In 2010 upon the request of Prince Charles of Wales, it was converted to run on used cooking oil.
About the nationwide tour, Roya Nikkah wrote in her Sunday Times piece, “It was their idea. If there was a moment to bring people together in spirit and try to tell an uplifting story about the pandemic, it’s now. Cambridge’s tour follows the recent announcement from the Downing Street that Boris Johnson will launch a ‘Union Taskforce’ of Tory MPs to promote the case for the United Kingdom. Hugo Victor, a Royal Historian said, ‘ This is a humanitarian, not a political mission but for the Duke and Duchess to engage with the whole nation after such a difficult year sends an important message of National Unity‘”.
A video of the departure.
The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing her green Alexander McQueen Military Style Olive Green coat that she first wore when she visited Bradford in January 2020.
The Military style coat has almost ankle length and a high neckline with a structured silhouette that has become Catherine’s signature look. The coat was a bespoke piece.
Catherine carried her Grace Han Love Letter Small Top Handle Bag debuted during a visit to Hold Still 2020 Community visit in October 2020.
The Duchess was also wearing her York Scarves’ Maple Leaf Tartan Scarf.
It looks like Catherine is wearing her black UFO suede long boots that she first wore in December 2018 at the Christmas Party.
Her UFO Pearl Earrings were complimenting the look.
Keeping up with the guidelines, The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing Amaia Kids Reusable Cotton Face Mask in Liberty Print.
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