Queen is all smiles as Kate and William arrive back at Windsor

5.2k

View
comments

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s successful whistle-stop tour of Britain by royal train concluded at Windsor Castle this afternoon, where the Queen joined them in thanking local volunteers and key workers.

The 94-year-old monarch’s appearance was the first time she has been seen in public with her son Prince Charles and other senior members of the monarchy en masse since before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March.

William and Kate’s gruelling 1,250-mile trip to offer support to the nation was marred by thinly veiled criticism from Wales and Scotland, despite it clearly falling within the guidelines because the royal couple were working. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised their three-day tour as a ‘welcome morale boost,’ as Downing Street sought to put distance between itself and the grandstanding of politicians in the devolved nations. 

The Queen enjoyed a Christmas carol performance on the steps of her Windsor Castle home on Tuesday evening – as she welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their tour.

As a Salvation Army band played festive tunes for the Queen and her family gathered around her, the head of state could be seen quietly singing along,

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall stood socially distanced nearby, as did William and Kate, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal with Christmas trees lit with lights nearby, adding to the atmosphere.

However there was no sign of Prince Philip, who officially retired from royal duties in August 2017 and is now rarely seen in public, with his 100th birthday only six months away. 

At the end of the performance the Queen, wearing an Angela Kelly, hat and coat in Christmas red, and a ruby and diamond spray brooch, chatted to her family in turn and as she turned to walk up the steps back inside the castle William said ‘Bye gran’. 

Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill, Territorial Leaders for The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland, also came forward to speak to the Queen who told them ‘nobody’s allowed to sing anymore’.

Choirs are allowed to perform outside and Anne told her mother ‘Oh, we can sing outside’.

Mr Cotterill said afterwards: ‘The Queen was saying she was just so happy we were able to play some carols because she thinks this will be the only time she’ll be able to hear carols, and she was disappointed we didn’t sing.

‘Sometimes we’re playing musicians and other times we’re a choir, at an event like this it’s better to have the band as you can hear it for miles.’

The Salvation Army’s Regent Hall Band, based in London’s busy Oxford Street, played Hark The Herald Angels Sing and The First Noel for the royal family.

Mrs Cotterill added: ‘I did see the Queen mouthing some of the words – so that was nice.’ 

A total of 20 guests representing local organisations and charities from Windsor and Maidenhead including a bus driver, refuse collector, two local headteachers, waited in a marquee on the Quadrangle lawn to meet the family.

Kate and William spoke to Sarah Cottle, 49, headteacher of three maintained nurseries in Windsor and Maidenhead.

She said afterwards: ‘We talked about Covid play, the children are starting to put masks on their dolls, making sense of the world around them

‘Social distancing and that’s tricky. The duchess shared that was really difficult and emphasised that you just can’t with young children.

‘She asked if I’d completed her survey which put me on the spot a little and the duke said “don’t put her on the spot” and she laughed and said she’d had to chide her parents to get them to fill it in.

‘It’s been great that the Cambridges have done this tour, nice to see them recognising the work schools have done.’

Suzanne hull, 49, headteacher at Oakfield First primary school, lives in Holyport met Charles and Camilla.

She said: ‘They were very interested in how schools had coped during lockdown. 

‘How many key workers and vulnerable children we were looking after. We have worked so hard in this community and so for this to be recognised is incredibly important.

‘Princess Anne was quite funny as she said: “I bet the parents were all incredibly happy when you re-opened as my children were when my grandchildren’s schools were re opened!” And I said “yes!”

‘I think it’s very important that the Royals were visible throughout this.’  

Earlier, Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething had said he would prefer it if ‘no-one was having unnecessary visits’ before William and Kate travelled to Cardiff Castle and met students.

He echoed the cynicism of the Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon who emphasised that her office had made plain the restrictions in place before the Cambridges travelled to Edinburgh yesterday.

Earlier, challenged on whether the couple had complied with the rules, a No 10 spokesman said: ‘I’m making the general point that we have set out the regionalised tier system that is now in place and the guidance that we are asking people to abide by.’

In response to a suggestion that No 10 was refusing to give its backing to the couple’s trip, the spokesman said: ‘I would point you towards the palace.’

But an hour after the comments in a Westminster briefing, a statement issued by No 10 confirmed Mr Johnson’s support.

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The PM is delighted to see the warm reception the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have received on their hugely valuable train tour of England, Scotland and Wales.

‘The tour will be a welcome morale boost to frontline workers who have done so much during the pandemic.’  

The mixed messages came after a Welsh minister swiped at William and Kate’s railiway journey, warning it must not be an ‘excuse’ for people to break coronavirus rules, one day after Nicola Sturgeon also appeared to criticise their morale-boosting trip. 

Kate and William visited Cardiff Castle to meet students to discuss mental health before heading to a Bath care home to meet a small group of residents who were delighted to see them. 

Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething delivered a thinly-veiled rebuke to the royals after he was asked about their 48-hour rail trip stopping in England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr Gething told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I’d rather that no-one was having unnecessary visits.’

He added: ‘People have views about the monarchy. But their visit isn’t an excuse for people to say they are confused about what they are being asked to do.’

Pressed on whether the royal couple should not be coming to Wales, he replied: ‘I’m not particularly that bothered or interested.

‘Because I don’t think that is going to be an excuse for people to say, ”I should go and behave in a different way”.’

The comments came after Nicola Sturgeon faced a backlash yesterday for a ‘rude’ and ‘petty’ jibe at the couple over their trip. 

It came as the couple arrived at Cardiff Castle this morning as they continued their tour of Britain by royal train – thanking key and frontline workers and communities for their efforts during the pandemic.

William and Kate were in the Welsh capital to highlight how the local tourism industry has coped in the pandemic and meet students to discuss how their mental health was supported during lockdown. 

Following their stop off in Wales, the couple moved onto Cleeve Court Care Home in Bath where they met residents including 94-year-old Ted Hogg and his support worker. 

William and Kate have been travelling on board the Royal Train for on a nine-stop whirlwind, 48 hour, 1,250-mile tour across England, Scotland and Wales.

The Royals arrived in Edinburgh yesterday morning to the sound of bagpipes serenading them with Christmas songs, before meeting workers at a Scottish Ambulance Service hub.

The pair are attempting to spread festive cheer to frontline workers ahead of the Christmas holidays.

The tour is also designed to showcase the UK’s arts, heritage and live performance sector, which has been supported throughout the pandemic by the Government’s £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund.

But Ms Sturgeon did not extend a welcome message to the couple during her daily briefing yesterday – despite being asked about the trip. 

Instead, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘The Scottish Government was advised about the intention to visit, and we made sure that the Royal Household were aware, as you would expect, of the restrictions in place in Scotland so that could inform both the decision and the planning of the visit.’

‘Any more questions on that should be directed to the Royal household,’ she added.

The Scottish government said Ms Sturgeon did not try to stop the Royals from going to Scotland, adding she simply reiterated the guidance in place. A spokeswoman later said: ‘The First Minister welcomes the support shown by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for Scotland’s NHS.’

One Tory MP MP told MailOnline of Ms Sturgeon’s remarks: ‘This man is the future King of Scotland.

‘It is very unsubtle and I think it will backfire on her because there are a lot of loyalist Scots who would be pretty appalled that she would behave in such a rude manner. She should know better.’