Chris Jackson/Getty Images(LONDON) — Teachers in the United Kingdom working during the holidays to keep schools open during the coronavirus pandemic for children of essential workers and vulnerable kids received a special thank you Wednesday.
Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, thanked teachers and staff at Casterton Primary Academy, a school in East Lancashire, in a special video call that also included the school’s students.
The school is located near a local hospital and has a high percentage of children whose parents are key workers, according to Kensington Palace. The teachers are also working through what would traditionally be an Easter holiday for schools in the U.K.
“Well done honestly to you and everyone who’s in during this time,” Kate said during the call. “It must be such a relief for all the parents who are key workers to know that the normality is there for their children.”
“They’ve got the structure and they’ve got a safe place for them to be, so really really well done to all of you,” she said.
“We just want to say a huge thank you to you guys and well done in keeping it all going,” William added. “Please pass on many messages of support for all the staff and all the volunteers. They’re doing a great job.”
The students showed Kate and William Easter crafts they had made at school and several also showed the duke and duchess portraits of their parents and “explained why they were proud of them,” according to Kensington Palace.
William and Kate are currently homeschooling their oldest two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, during the coronavirus pandemic. Their school, Thomas’s Battersea, switched to virtual learning last month when schools in the U.K. were closed until further notice.
William and Kate have not attended an in-person royal engagement since March 20, when the couple visited the London Ambulance Service 111 control room in Croydon to thank emergency workers.
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