Prince William has been Zooming up a storm for the past three months or so. Once he and Kate figured out that Zoom calls “counted” as work, they kept up a steady, Top CEO pace of one or two Zoom videos a week. Supposedly, he and Kate have confined themselves to the Sandringham/Anmer Hall property, but I bet William has made a few jaunts in and around Norfolk which we haven’t heard about (cough). Anyway, all of this to say that William did his first “public” event (in three months) yesterday in Norfolk.
Prince William stepped out in Norfolk on Tuesday to praise first responders who have been working in the face of the coronavirus pandemic across the U.K. In his first public appearance since the crisis gripped the U.K. in mid-March, William, 37, headed out to see some of the ambulance workers who have been helping people during the last few difficult months.
He visited a base at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, not far from the Sandringham estate, and his home Anmer Hall. He wanted to thank them “for their work and dedication responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and to hear more about their experiences over the past few months,” his office at Kensington Palace said.
A bigger “thank you” would have been to wear a f–king mask! It doesn’t seem like the first responders are wearing masks either, and that’s on them. But again, the Windsor clan should be leading by example whenever they are seen in public, and that goes for the Queen, Kate (lol, she’s not going anywhere), Anne, anybody. Wear a f–king mask.
While William was chatting with these ambulance workers, he made sure to crack a typical William Joke: “I’m worried about the waistline of the nation as well with all the chocolate and cakes. I’ve done a lot of baking at home. Chocolate goes down very well.” Hm, sounds like someone has replaced rose-trimming as his favorite Norfolk activity. I wonder whose baked goods he’s been sampling?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Lazy Katie still tanning, was she?
Maybe she’s off on a vacation with Carole and company.
Oh, yes. Mummy needs to upgrade Waitybot to ensure she can speak more than twenty words in a row without totally collapsing into gibberish 😝
Here in the UK masks are only mandatory on public transport and where distancing is not possible so he’s 100% within government guidelines. Wow. Never thought I’d defend Wilileaks.
Won’t end well. See Arizona, FL and Texas.
It’s not mandatory to wear masks in Denmark either. No one wears them here, and “only” 600 have died in Denmark (600 too many, though. May they rest in peace), and the R-number is currently under one, meaning there is very little disease, and that the pandemic is declining locally here. What’s most important is hygiene, social distance and isolation when being sick. Wearing a mask can actually make you sick, because it attracts and sucks those dangerous virus particles in, but on the other hand, it protects others from your particles. It’s a double edged swore, and that’s why many governments aren’t telling people to wear masks. The studies and evidense isn’t there. Other factos and measures are way more important.
@scandi while a low death rate might be the case for denmark, it isn’t for the UK. Clearly what they are doing isn’t working. The UK shouldn’t act like Denmark because COVID has gotten more out of control than in your country.
Wearing a mask does not make you sick. Please don’t spread disinformation.
Masks are to protect others. They don’t “suck in virus.”
Masks work best when everyone wears them. I have fabric masks which can be laundered.
Masks and handwashing are the best defenses. Hence why the raccoon is the official animal of covid.
But that’s not the point, what’s happening in the States you mention. …… In BC Canada where we have the magnificent Dr. Bonnie Henry, she has treated us as adults all the way through. Sure, there have been asshats, but they have been the minority, so we have managed to plank the curve. We are experiencing a hiccup now, due to a family party that had more than 50 people who did not distance and now 6 are sick.
Also, WEARING A MASK DOES NOT MAKE YOU SICK….it helps you keep members of your community safe. It’s courteous. It’s respectful. If you cannot wear a mask comfortably, like me, buy a face shield, like me ($8.99 Cdn). They are cheap and effective. I wear a mask that covers my mouth, and the face shield covers my nose.
Dr. Bonny Henry is my new hero. She is something else. I read an article yesterday about her becoming Canada’s next Chief Public Health Officer after Dr. Theresa Tam. I hope it’s true for the sake of our country, and for her, she deserves the recognition. Did you hear about her working 150 days straight before a day off? Once a week I’ve been sending an email to Premier Horgan’s office asking for a trauma center, hospital or teaching center named after her.
Scandi, you should properly wash your mask (if it’s washable) between wearings, or simply don’t reuse a non-washable mask (and discard it appropriately).
Properly used, masks prevent the spread of disease. They should absolutely be encouraged for everyone (I’m writing from the US, I fully understand other countries are far more advanced in science and healthcare than we are, ugh).
I have to agree. I am a bit annoyed because if you want to criticize something that is common place in the US but not the UK you’re just looking for a bone to pick. I am not a Wills fan by any stretch but you have to understand things are managed here differently and that’s that.
Also, we honestly just have an overall more responsible population than the US (I’m a Canadian living in the UK but pretty neutral towards both countries), and people are more respectful day in and day out. America’s massive issues can’t be put on Britain identically. This site is actually starting to miss the mark, and UK researchers are making these determinations based on their findings. We do not have to do what the US does, especially if current research and legislation says otherwise.
This is a very bizarre response to something (mask wearing) that is being done in many countries around the world. It’s not a US thing.
According to https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111779/coronavirus-death-rate-europe-by-country/
“The United Kingdom has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in Europe.”
But okay
I’m in Canada working for a UK based company and I am amazed at how bad the UK response has been. When Canada was shutting down with far fewer cases, the UK was still pretending herd immunity was a thing and totally ignoring what was happening with their close neighbours in Italy, France and Spain.
Thousands have unnecessarily died because Boris Johnson has massively screwed up thanks to Dominic Cummings and his dumb approach, something he couldn’t be bothered to do. He breaks the laws and still hasn’t resigned.
Defending the UK approach is not a winning argument here. It’s frankly a battle between the UK and the US for the worst possible approach.
The royals are already selective with what they decide to follow so saying “it’s government policy” isn’t really a good defence when the UK government policy has failed at every step.
@nic: I had a phone call with some friends living in London, one of them is a cancer survivor so he is super careful, they told me it’s bad. Very bad like: parks are always opened and people go there in small groups. It’s awful.
@EM
Agree completely, Americans expect everyone else to follow their law. Here in Croatia people only wear masks in public transport (it’s recommended non mandatory).
I’m in Denmark and people here don’t wear masks. Of course the rate of contagion has gone way down and we haven’t been hit nowhere near as hard as other countries. However, I very very rarely see people wearing masks and they don’t seem to be readily available to any other than medical personnel. I honestly wouldn’t even know where to get masks. People still practice social distancing, hand sanitizers are put up in every store, large congregations are still forbidden and certain public spaces are still closed.
@em lol, respectful? london is by far the rudest place I’ve ever lived. and if the scientists are doing such a good job then why does the UK have the second worst death toll in the world? remember the whole herd immunity debacle? and we all know the government there is known for their competence :/ bojo is just as bad as trump. really, what planet are you living on?
@Em.. yes, you can manage “differently” like Fl,AZ and TX and get illness and death but that’s that..outcomes
@em more responsible by not wearing masks? Ok, interesting take. Btw I believe it was a U.K. study that showed how wearing masks stops the spread of the virus and saves lives
you guys are sweet if you think it’s a battle between the UK and the US for the worst response
I live in Brazil, our president asked people to invade hospitals and film icu units to prove that they are not full
To be clear I can understand that different governments look at the evidence and interpret it differently. That happens with many things. It was the other comments that struck me as bizarre, lol.
Your country has a huge coronavirus death toll, why are you bringing the US into this? Masks are proven to be effective according to many published studies.
@Faye G in england, everything always has to be referenced and compared back to us, it’s like an obsession. when i lived there, i would hear this literally every week as well as on TV
Judging coronavirus response by total deaths is not very accurate because the countries being compared have vastly different total populations. The US has a death rate of 357 per million people, putting it closely on par with Ireland and the Netherlands (each with 352 per million). The UK has 631 deaths per million, second only to Belgium with 846 per million. Even Sweden has 485 per million. If you’re looking at total numbers of deaths to justify a certain approach, you’re missing the bigger picture.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
Sadly, a lot of people in the US aren’t wearing masks either. I think the larger point of her comment is that the virus is not going any where – if anything, it’s increasing – and the UK is one of the countries with the highest number of cases. It’s completely irresponsible for William as a public figure especially who has social influence – to not wear one and promote wearing them – and also as a family man to expose himself and ultimately his family and kids to the virus because he decided not to cover up. This isn’t about America imposing ideals on others, most Americans aren’t even doing the right thing by wearing masks. It’s a global pandemic affecting most nations, and everyone has the responsibility to protect themselves and others whether or not their government is telling them to.
I bring the US into this because I believe Celebitchy is American based and therefore coming from their perspective. I didn’t say the UK has done a good job (I’m canadian and we’ve done well!) but I’m saying we need to be realistic about targeting people who are following rules and doing as told. It’s becoming a game of picking people apart as opposed to remaining concerned with larger issues. Neither the First Responders or William wore a mask because they aren’t told to. Best decision? Maybe not. Following the rules? Yes. It’s as if the constant stream of slow news days is making everyone desperate to pick everything apart, and the best part of this website is it often focuses on real stories with educated, well thought out responses from level headed individuals. In this case he’s not breaking any rules, so do you really need to pick people apart? Part of the problem or part of the solution? We need some juicy gossip so you guys can finally dig into something good.
Same in France.
The government also said they could send Charlotte to school and yet they didn’t. Let stop with the pick and choose of the government regulations they follow. The UK government has been massively wrong on dealing with covid and has the highest per capita death rate (US still leads in numbers)..
Wearing a mask has been shown to prevent spread and being extra cautious would be good modelling behaviour from all the royals.
The royals are supposed to show “good modelling behaviour” of UK guidelines. UK guidelines only mandate the wearing of a mask on public transport (or where social distancing can’t be maintained). You can disagree with UK guidelines, and some people do, but that is the position. Mask wearing is not a political issue in the UK (as it appears to be in the US), its just our medical and scientific advice on mask wearing is different.
Also not compulsory to send you children back to school (and not all schools re-opened).
Agreed, Nic919. With the rates of UK infections, he should wear a mask on these engagements as good modeling behavior.
This has bothered me a lot. Charlotte only stayed home to make company to the heir, Big G. That is already a big red sign to me on how these dummies raise their children. I do not doubt they love them a lot, but they are clearly gearing them towards a very strict behavioral code.
Charlotte is at an age she is forming her own relationships outside. Going to school is very important for socialization and schools do follow limitations, so she would be as safe as one could be. They just thought of the heir and what he wanted.
She could still be at home as a result of an abundance of caution? I mean do we know for a fact that is why Charlotte was kept home? It seems out of touch with healthy parenting, which is what these two are promoting so heavily.
EDIT at Lady D:
“While Princess Charlotte, who is in reception, could go back to school as part of the phased return to classes, Prince George is in year 2 – not one of the groups expected to be brought back under government advice. The Times today reported Kate and William were considering keeping the family together during the coronavirus lockdown. Both Charlotte, five, and George, six, attend Thomas’ school in Battersea, Southwest London, which is this week expected to make a final decision over the return of classes.”
This news was discussed here…as you can see, they are framing as ” keeping the family together” and say that while Charlotte can attend, George cannot…so yeah, my reading is accurate.
If William is in Norfolk with Rose while Kate is in London with the kids, no reason Charlotte cannot go to school. If the family is all in Norfolk, much more difficult to get Charlotte to school each day.
We’ll see what they do come September. Will they return to London, have both older kids in school, and send their younger son to pre-school in Sept/Jan? The other two started pre-school at 2 1/2 so tradition would be him starting Sept or January at the latest. Or will they stay in Norfolk claiming abundance of caution or keeping the family together?
@Priscila, I should probably just give up my little fantasy about those children being raised fairly now and save myself years of feeling badly for the princess.
Exactly. Note that none of the first responders are wearing masks, either.
I noticed that none of the returning royals are wearing masks in public. I saw Anne (love her), Charles and Camilla doing visits and none wore masks.e
I think the U.S. will have an even greater spike in major cities due to two things: large scale protests with many not wearing masks or social distancing and many people going on vacation in rd-opened states like Florida.
Yeah they aren’t mandatory in Canada either, but they are helpful in stopping the spread of covid, so public figures wear them or and get absolutely spanked online if they dont wear them. Ya know, because the bare minimum is not acceptable.
Does Will have more hair on the top of his head?
There was a tabloid story a month or two ago claiming Harry had had a hair transplant, so very possibly!
Looks the same to me, maybe it’s just the lighting.
Looks like he’s growing a comb over
Wow, he definitely does! Good eye!
Well, he is socially distancing at least- and that is all I have to say about this insipid man.
Masks don’t seem to be a thing in the UK – maybe 10% of people are wearing them (other than on public transport where they are required). They aren’t going to have William ignore government guidelines in his first public appearance.
Guess the 3ft apart was approved by Boris Johnson.This is gonna one long year at home
These people are absolutely dull, lol. No wonder the Royal reporters are still obsessed with Harry and Meghan. I would be on my phone at these royal engagements because just looking and reading quotes, you see why they won’t leave Harry and Meghan alone.
His father and step-mother weren’t wearing masks and the government isn’t making them wear masks so that’s why he’s not wearing on either.
As for the engagement: eh. Not much to say. But I’m more interested in whether or not they’ll keep this up and continue to do engagements and try to get back to “normal” or whether he’ll stay in the confines of Amner/KP
Charles and Camilla should have worn masks too. I think it’s dumb that none of them are doing it. They certainly didn’t follow the law when they took off to Scotland. That’s the whole problem with the “it’s the UK law!” defence.. none of them are consistent with following it.
Charles has already had covid. And I bet Camilla tested positive for antibodies. That might be why they are out and about without masks despite being at advanced risk due to age.
The purpose of the mask (at least from what I’ve read) is for the wearer to protect others from potentially catching the virus, the mask itself is not be very effective in protecting yourself from catching Covid (although it might give some protection). In this case, it’s actually worse that Charles and Camilla didn’t wear a mask considering that out of these two, one individual was actually infected while the other was a close contact. Just because they both may have immunity doesn’t change the fact that they might be still carrying the virus (assuming they are not 100% cleared of the virus) and could still be considered infectious. Charles and Camilla should have been wearing masks period. Regarding William, while it would have been nice for him to wear one, he was maintaining social distancing with the others and wasn’t talking straight face to face (based on these pics) but were standing side to side limiting any potential spread.
They’re all standing about 6 feet apart or more so I think masks aren’t required. Is there video of this meeting? I would love to see if the energy is excited or tolerant of this royal coming down from their tower to thank the peasants for putting their life at risk. I would be so annoyed that I had to stop my day to hear this man talk to me about his stupid baking. Waistline of the nation? What about those who are struggling to make ends meet and buy their groceries? Shut up William!
I know pictures sometimes seem to capture awkward moments that weren’t, but these are hilarious to me. The ambulance workers look so bored and unimpressed by his speech and self-importance. The group shot when u zoom into their faces, lol! & In one of the pics, the man on his left looks like he’s super bored and about to fall asleep and the pic after he just straight up looks asleep 😂 Are these really the best ones his team had to choose from? Too funny
all the first responders look totally annoyed at this utter waste of their time.
The UK doesn’t require people to wear masks. They’re arguing that it gives people a false sense of security and that people won’t follow other more important guidelines like social distancing. They aren’t entirely wrong. The cloth masks, provided they fit well, are still only effective for awhile. Once they are wet from your breathe, they no longer filtering the way they should and should be changed out for a fresh mask. Most people aren’t changing them frequently enough. So, they only recommend wearing a mask if you cannot social distance. William is leading by example here. He’s following the government guidelines. He is a terrible person, but you can’t be mad that he’s doing his job for once.
as said before, we in the UK are not required to wear masks unless on public transport. as a hospital worker I have to wear one at work but only from this last Monday.
I also agree that people aren’t interested in his baking, people have been furloughed or made redundant, businesses may never open again and people are struggling with basic things and he’s thinking all us peasants are getting fat on cake. I’m surprised he didn’t link this in to mental health as there is sure to be a upturn in those of us NHS workers who are going to be suffering mentally at the end of all this. that would have been more useful.
They’re just talking points to him. I don’t think he approaches any of this with empathy.
Someone needs to send William a copy of Blackadder Series 3. More and more he reminds me of the Prince Regent. I could see Hugh Laurie’s character making a joke about Blackadder’s waistline and talking about cakes and chocolate.
William should just stop with the jokes – he’s not funny and his “jokes” are often condescending.
@Janey, you hit the nail on the head. I live in the UK (London) and I know people that are currently being made redundant.
The only explanation I can think of, is that he is so, SO insulated from the real world, that he does not know anybody who has lost their job, and therefore it literally does not occur to him that people might be preoccupied with things other than overeating. Particularly in light of Marcus Rashford’s efforts over the past few weeks, and the Government u-turn yesterday, it’s just astonishing HOW insulated and incurious he actually is.
His entire family is incredibly insulated and a number of them are quite incurious. It doesn’t surprise me that he is too – not to mention that he isn’t the sharpest knife in the box.
OK @janey, I am sorry but I think it is absolutely CRAZY that hospital workers in the UK are only NOW required to wear masks!!! If anything, William is an idiot for listening to your bumbling, negligent government. At least in the US we have some decent governors paying the feds/Trump no mind but fgs, masks have been worn by hospital staff where I am for months!
Well, at least he didn’t ask them what Netflix shows they were watching or whatever.
Masks aren’t mandatory here in the US either but most responsible leaders are wearing them for public appearances. But at least Charles and Camilla were outside and William appears to be in an open air ambulance bay (is that the right word lol) so its not like he’s wandering around a hospital sans mask.
I feel like joking about how much he has been baking to people who have probably been very busy over the past two months is a little tone deaf, but hey, that’s William.
This seems to be a problem among royals in general. It wasn’t that long ago that we all discussed Victoria and Daniel not wearing masks or distancing. They’re all unfortunately setting a bad example.
It isn’t like he’s been baking anyway. He’s been eating – the staff is baking (maybe Kate, if she feels like it).
People are experiencing food insecurity and are forced to work indoors whether they want to or not. We don’t need to hear about Willnot’s cushy life. NEWSFLASH: you’re not “relatable” and you need to shut your gob and listen.
Nah, if anyone’s been stuffing the sweet cheeks of the Penis With Teeth with luscious baked goods, it’s Carole… 😉
In some parts of the US like NY, people cannot go into any place like a grocery store or drug store without a mask.
I’m in the uk and I’m very much team #wearamask we have the worst death toll in Europe so my confidence in government advice is not great. I know a lot of people who don’t, but I still wear one when I’m in a public place like the supermarket. Seeing people go crazy when the shops opened up, is just madness. We are not out of the woods yet, and we don’t want a second wave. I’m not mad a willie here, as long as he keeps his distance, plus he probably gets tested all the time.
Yes thank you. Studies are showing that masks help reduce the spread and the whole “the government said it’s ok! They totally don’t change their position when new information comes to light” is just a dumb position to take. We know so little about the spread of this virus and until there is a vaccine, we should be wearing masks when dealing with people outside of our small social circle.
Uh, Wills. I think these first responders might have had a different experience of the lockdown than you did. I am sure they would have loved to have been home with their families baking and eating too much chocolate. Someone should give this guy a script and not let him veer off of it because he cannot relate to the working lives of those he goes to “support” or “thank.”
Esp when the lockdown first started many key workers (first responders included) struggled to get basic necessities due to panic and bulk buying. The ‘joke’ about food was insensitive.
I have extended family members who are paramedics and they struggled the first few weeks of the lockdown to get supplies etc..
Let them eat cake! The man is so out of touch, just like Marie Antoinette.
This is the same guy who didn’t donate any money when EAAA (his ’employer’) at the time was asking for public donations to fix up the living facilities at the base. He wants to be seen as ‘one of them’, but won’t contribute any real work or any of his own funds.
William loves to crack jokes which usually succeed in making him sound tone deaf (corona virus overhype joke) or out of touch like baking and overeating which is a very privileged activity right now. I am very careful when I am doing public events about the jokes that I make – timing is important and recognizing what you find amusing isn’t always shared. Diana was and Harry is much better at it than he is.
I guess.
He’s baking? Translation, he hands orders to chefs in the kitchen. Tacky comment since some people did not have enough money to buy food for their families.
Does this man ever not say something totally inappropriate or just plain stupid? I guess if no one calls him out he will continue to do it. The royals are just plain tone deaf.
Well, apparently no called out Andrew on his stupid and often racist jokes until recently. I doubt anyone is telling William that he isn’t funny.
Her name is probably Muffin.
….Scented with a soupcon of Rose water….
I was thinking Saffron, Clementine, Madeleine, Olive, Rosemary, Julienne…
Wasn’t there a story recently of Kate introducing Louis to baking as a “heartwarming aspect of royal life” LOL. That story, coupled with their episode baking with Mary Berry and now Will mentioning baking–I wanna know who thought to tell the Cambridges baking is an interesting enough hobby for them to bring up and be associated with constantly.
#PigeonShrug forever.
George also mixed puddings with William, Charles and the Queen.
It’s the new roast chicken.
“People like The Great British Bakeoff? Great! Tell them we bake too. We’re so relatable!’
As with many things over the past few years, they probably want to mimic Meghan. Known for being a foodie, ran a successful site that had cooking as a major focus, and of course the Together cookbook project. The most we heard about the Cambridges and food was Kate’s Queen-approved chutney and Will’s occasional joke about her cooking skills.
We also heard of Kate spending weeks at a high-end cooking school taking basic cooking classes, after we were told by stans she was an amazing cook already. That was during one of her many ‘I cannot work’ phases, but she had no problem spending weeks at cooking school or weeks at SCUBA school.
OMG. sometimes I’m dense. You’re absolutely right. Meghan did the cookbook, so for Kate to prove that she is also a foodie, she did the cooking special with Mary Berry.
as an aside I have started watching the Great British Baking Show (that’s what its called here for some reason) and its so fun. I cant find the first few seasons though – the earliest season on Netflix says “Beginnings” but I think its already well established because they don’t introduce any of the hosts or judges and there is no explanation of the format of the show.
Meghan had the ‘Together” cookbook so the other royals had the “Together at Christmas” cooking demonstration with George.
William joking about baking? These two and their lack of senses of humour. We know he isn’t doing any baking, the housekeeper and cook are. If he’s even living with the family, which is always in doubt. He could be next door at Houghton.
I can just picture it now, Kate brings the children down to the kitchen, where all the baking tools & ingredients are already placed there by their cooks for them to use. George begins stabbing at the premade dough in a bowl, Louis is getting his hands dirty with the icing, Charlotte is off somewhere doing who knows what, ’cause they never talk bout doing anything with her. In the end, Kate ushers them out of the kitchen once they’re bored. Off to the next craft they can take pictures of and/or publicize! The cooks clean-up the mess and bake an actual cake. Will comes home from his busy day pruning Rose bushes and eats the cake, feels sorry for himself ’cause “it’s quite hard” for him to find time to spend with his kids. The end.
I’ve thought more about this and the tabloids and papers COULD ABSOLUTELY have a field day with his comment on worrying about the nation’s waistline. Literally, I can see the headlines now ‘William says let them eat cake!’ OUT OF TOUCH ROYALS – ETC. but nooo we won’t hear a word about this but I’m still thinking about the time they tried to connect avocado farming related deaths to Megan Markle.
I can’t believe he isnt getting more dragged for this. People have died and lost their jobs and he’s worried about them getting fat :/ ugh. how do these people have fans?
Remember he’s the same guy who said he was so bored of racism. Clueless idiot.
(face palm) its so unbelievable that wearing jeans and eating avocados is what bothers these people
I wish we all had the priviledge of being bored with racism.
He and Kate are so vapid.
Breaking news: William works/waves for an hour. Useless entitled beings.
lol at the people praising him for coming to stand for 20mts(whilst pictures are taken) and then going home & logging this as “work”!!! Meanwhile sophie joined a discussion group as well as volunteering to pack goods all in THE SAME DAY
Is she being allowed to count any of it as work?
Royal watchers praise him for this kind of stuff. Show up to an event and pose for photos while the media writes up a PR story and pushes it on the low informational people.
All I can say if this virus can hang in the air for certain length of time-how would he know somebody had not coughed in a space 5 minutes earlier and he walk right through it. This virus could be on people’s clothing. If he wants to take a chance getting virus and take it home to his family-then the responsibility rests on his shoulders.