The Cambridge Family Clap for the NHS

As is becoming a very important tradition, every Thursday night the Cambridge family joined the nation by celebrating our NHS staff, volunteers and carers with a round of applause in gratitude for their extraordinary efforts.

Indeed those watching the BBC will know tonight's appearance was a little different with some much-needed comic relief. Prince William made his acting debut as he joined Stephen Fry for a delightful sketch in support of The Big Night In appeal. There were several royally tailored jokes, with William asking Stephen for television recommendations now his favourite soap Eastenders is on hiatus. Mr Fry asked if he had seen Tiger King to which William joked: "I tend to avoid shows about royalty."

The Telegraph reports on the sketch which saw Stephen Fry reprise his much-loved Blackadder role as Lord Melchett.

'Written by Richard Curtis, who penned the original television show and is the founder of Comic Relief, it opened with Stephen Fry as Lord Melchett.
Known to fans of the show as the Lord Chamberlain to Elizabeth I in the Tudor series of the show, the character had been updated for the modern Royal Family as “head of the royal household”.

Waiting for the Duke to join him on a call, as made fun of the royal heritage as he muttered: “I thought Germans were meant to be punctual." “I’m here Melchett,” said Prince William, in an acting debut that would have taken millions of viewers by surprise.

After a moment of tech failure, which saw him call video calls “complicated stuff”, he asked: “How are you Melchie, have you been self isolating?” In a short sketch filmed at Anmer Hall, Fry asked how his homeschooling was going.

“It’s a bit of a nightmare really,” said William, before Melchett offered to help with spelling or history. Fry said he was “not bad at kings and queens”, before reminding himself that it was likely the Duke’s own area of expertise. “You’d think so wouldn’t you,” William replied, looking sceptical. When Fry tried to address him in French, he admitted: “I literally have no idea what you’re talking about."'

After their chat, Stephen was filmed stepping out and applauding our carers, followed by William who was joined outside the door of Anmer Hall by his family to honour those on the front line.

It was followed by moving footage of people all over the country clapping, children's drawings and aerial scenes from a very quiet London. The music in the backdrop is McFly's 'All About You'. Fun fact: Giovanna Fletcher, who Kate spoke to about her early years work for her podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby is married to the one of the band, singer Tom Fletcher.

👏 Thank you to all our incredible key workers! #ClapForOurCarers

Ahead of the nation showing their appreciation for our tireless key workers, The Duke joined #Blackadder’s General Melchett @StephenFry for some video call fun on #TheBigNightIn@ComicRelief | @BBCCiN pic.twitter.com/eUfAtFWIuT

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 23, 2020

BBC's Children in Need and Comic Relief joined forces to bring viewers The Big Night In, hosted by Lenny Henry and Matt Baker. The night of comedy, music and entertainment featured comedy legends Peter Kay, Catherine Tate amongst others, along with performances by Gary Barlow. Below, a segment I particularly loved: Dawn French as Geraldine Granger, The Vicar of Dibley, offering us an update on life in the parish.

If you would like to donate in support of the appeal please click here.

We also saw the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall clapping for our carers from their Scottish home, Birkhall. A Palace aide said Charles and Camilla "wanted to show their continued appreciation for NHS staff and other key workers on the front line of the battle against coronavirus".

Earlier today, Clarence House shared a really wonderful photo of Charles with his grandson to mark Louis' birthday. It's thought the Duchess took this photo - I would say her very best yet.

And we were treated to the photo we all wanted to see from the birthday boy's finger painting session :) I hope Louis had a fabulous day!

The Duchess was summery in the very pretty Ghost Anouk Floral Satin Midi Dress (with thanks to emg collins).

The empire line dress is described: "The beautiful piece catches the eye in many ways - its smooth and fresh-hued fabric, dainty floral pattern and soft ruffle trim. The sleeves have wide cuffs that are retro-inspired and give a slightly puff finish. The deep V neck is smartened up with a shawl-style collar." The £129 piece is available at John Lewis and Asos.

A closer look at the print.

We saw the Duchess in Ghost London's Avery dress during the Pakistan tour last October. It's a great brand, especially for elegant midi and maxi dresses which can take you from day to night. The Avery is back in stock in pink at Asos and John Lewis.

Kate wore her Accessorize Polly Petal drop earrings. They are currently in stock for just £8.

It was great to see the Cambridges tonight. Wishing you all a lovely weekend!