Royal News Roundup: a New Baby, an Unprecedented Train Tour & a Major Family Reunion

• This week, Prince William and Kate Middleton embarked on the first royal tour of its kind to honor frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The tour took place by means of the Royal Train, which is a special form of transportation reserved only for the family’s most senior members. For the last few days, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lived on the coach (!) and made stops in a variety of cities across England, Scotland and Wales.

• On Wednesday, during their Royal Train Tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stopped to meet with nurses and midwives at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, which also happens to be the place where the duchess was born in January of 1982. Aside from getting to greet key workers, Middleton and Prince William were also treated to a special surprise from the crew behind the TV series, The Great British Bake Off—a cake sent from the team to celebrate essential workers.

This week, Prince William and Kate Middleton embarked on the first royal tour of its kind to honor frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The tour took place by means of the Royal Train, which is a special form of transportation reserved only for the family’s most senior members. For the last few days, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lived on the coach (!) and made stops in a variety of cities across England, Scotland and Wales.

• This week, for the first time since March, Queen Elizabeth was joined by Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne for a special holiday-themed engagement. During the socially distanced event, which took place at the castle’s quadrangle, the royal gang enjoyed a performance of Christmas carols by the Salvation Army Band. They even met with key workers from organizations and charities in Berkshire.
• On Wednesday, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a statement responding to recent articles published by The Sun and Daily Mail alleging that the couple was creating their own awards ceremony to "compete" with Queen Elizabeth's birthday honors list. In response, a press secretary for their foundation released a statement writing, “We look forward to sharing more about Archewell's work in the weeks ahead but any suggestion that it is intended to rival the UK honours list is false.”

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