Yahoo Finance Prince William and Kate Middleton wish Scots happy Burns Night
The Duchess of Cambridge donned a tartan dress to join Prince William in sending a Burns Night message and treat to Scottish hospital workers today.
She and William teamed up with NHS Charities Together and Tayside Health Fund to provide a traditional Burns celebration lunch of haggis, neeps and tatties to 200 staff treating coronavirus patients at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
The future King and Queen also arranged for royal warrant holders to donate Burns Biscuits and gift boxes to a further 100 staff to thank them for all they have been doing.
Aides said the couple were conscious that Burns Night would not be the same as usual for most Scots and wanted to do something to show their appreciation of the work in hospitals.
In their video message, William said: “Hello to everyone at NHS Tayside. We know Burns Night is a special evening for Scots around the world – a time to come together to eat, drink and to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns.”
Kate, who was in an old favourite Emilia Wickstead dress which she wore to the Queen’s Christmas lunch for the extended Royal Family at Buckingham Palace in December 2019, added: ”Sadly this year is a little different. And for many of you working on the frontline, tonight will be a very different occasion, as you work tirelessly through this pandemic to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”
In the message, played over lunchtime to a multi-disciplinary Covid-19 response team who work in the dedicated Covid-19 Intensive Care and High Dependency Units at the hospital, William, 38, told staff: “We want to say a huge thank you for all of the work you are doing and the sacrifices you are making. As a token of our appreciation, we’ve teamed up with NHS Charities Together to provide you with a Haggis dinner.”
Kate, 39, said: “We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to better times together soon.”
Both wished good health to the staff, saying: “Slàinte Mhath!”
Aides declined to say whether William and Kate normally celebrated Burns Night but Scotland holds a special place in their hearts. The couple, who are known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn north of the border, met at St Andrews University and are regular visitors to the Queen’s Balmoral estate in the Highlands, even if William refuses to wear a kilt in public.
Their gesture followed tension between Kensington Palace and the Scottish government over their trip north of the border on the royal train in December during Covid restrictions. It also came amid a raft of polls showing that the United Kingdom is at risk, with Scots increasingly supportive of independence.
But royal sources insisted there had been no political pressure from Whitehall or Westminster for the couple to mark Burns Night and said their message was part of their work to support NHS staff and other frontline workers during the pandemic.
Two royal warrant holders, Edinburgh-based food and wine emporium Valvona & Crolla, and the Fisher & Donaldson bakery in Cupar, Fife, donated Burns Biscuits and gift boxes to staff at the request of Kensington Palace.
NHS Tayside employs 13,000 staff caring for patients in Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross.
In the past three weeks its Covid-19 dedicated wards, Intensive Care Unit and High
Dependency Unit have seen unprecedented numbers of patients with the virus and a four-fold rise in numbers.
Grant Archibald, NHS Tayside chief executive, said, “Our staff have now been at the frontline in our response to Covid-19 for more than 300 days and their dedication has been truly awe-inspiring. It means so much to all of our teams across Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross to receive this special message of appreciation today which underlines the ongoing, extraordinary efforts of Team Tayside.”
Lorna Birse-Stewart, chair of Tayside NHS Board, said: “On behalf of NHS Tayside and Tayside Health Fund I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for this wonderful gesture. It provides an opportunity for us to recognise some of the patient-facing and support staff across health and social care in Tayside who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment during these most challenging times.”
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