Prince William becomes royal face of coronavirus crisis by making public address, a sign he's ready to be king
Prince William was the first member of the royal family to speak to the nation about the coronavirus crisis in a video last week. The Duke of Cambridge was joined by wife Kate Middleton on a visit to NHS 111 center on Friday, March 20. William and Kate were the first royals to meet with coronavirus frontline health workers.
While speaking to 9Honey, royal expert Katie Nicholl shared that the move to have William speaking was 'significant' and that the Cambridges were 'best placed' members of the royal family acting as 'pillars of support' for the moment. Watch the video here.
"We're seeing William step up in that statesman role. It strikes me as interesting that the first member of the royal family to address the nation has been William," Nicholl shared. She added that the decision would have been cleared by the Buckingham Palace before the video was released.
The expert also shared that the 93-year-old Queen needs to be 'pretty much in quarantine' in Windsor, given her age. On the other hand, the Queen's son, Prince Charles, 71, and daughter Princess Anne, 69, are also in the risky bracket of COVID-19.
Nicholl said the mood at the Buckingham Palace had been 'keep calm and carry on' but as the crisis grew, there were just 'too many risks' for the royal family to continue on as normal. The Queen had kept the 'business as usual' attitude for as long as she could but given growing concerns over the virus, she could not continue to carry out her work.
"They've wanted to send off that message for as long as possible that it's business as usual... and the Queen has really has done that for as long as she can. But quite simply, being an aging monarch, there are far too many risks with this virus for her to continue carrying out the work she's doing."
The royal expert is of the opinion that Prince William and Kate Middleton are 'best placed' to lead the family's efforts and support the nation in light of the coronavirus pandemic. "Obviously William and Kate aren't in the vulnerable sector, therefore they are perhaps the best-placed or among the best placed of the royal family to be able to help at the moment," Nicholl shared.
She further revealed how senior members of the royal family including William and Kate would continue to send out messages of support for the nation.
"We will see senior members of the family support the nation, address the nation, whether that's via their social media handle, via video messages of support. This is a crucial time for the nation, it's a time of crisis for the nation and this is when we turn to the monarch and the royal family for comfort and support and reassurance," she continued.
Recently, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced strict measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus, which included banning public gatherings of more than two people at a time. As of Monday, around 335 people have lost their lives to the virus.
The new measures were taken amid fears that the public was disregarding the government's social distancing order.