Prince William joined Kate Middleton as she met with the lonely cancer-stricken 85-year-old who is a full-time carer for his wife with dementia, who she has made two lengthy calls to during the pandemic.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the UK ahead of the Christmas holidays to pay tribute to the incredible work of individuals and organisations that have gone above and beyond in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And the royals, who both donned face masks, made a special stop off to meet full-time carer Len Gardner, 85, and his wife Shirley, 84, from Batley, West Yorkshire, who the Duchess has enjoyed long chats with amid lockdown.
Len, who first knew he would be getting a royal phone friend was when he got a call from Royal Voluntary Service in May, said: ‘It was quite a surprise. I was asked if I would like to speak to someone of importance about how lockdown had affected me as an elderly person.’
‘I said, “Who is it?” They said, “We don’t want to tell you because we don’t really know who it is.”‘
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, met full time carer Len Gardner, 85, and his wife Shirley as they embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the UK today (pictured, together)
The cancer-stricken 85-year-old (pictured, speaking with Kate) is a full-time carer for his wife Shirley, who has dementia
During the first lockdown , Kate talked to the pensioner about Italian food and watching sheep shearing with her children (pictured, together)
The next day they revealed who it was.
Len explained: ‘After quite a long pause, because that is quite something to take in for an ordinary guy, I said I would be pleased to speak to her.
‘It was just flabbergasting. And the first question I had to ask was, “How do I address you?” Because I like to do things properly.
‘She said, “Call me Catherine.” And from that moment on, for the next 30 minutes it was Catherine and Len.’
Len went on to say how they talked about work, and families, and the countries he has travelled to, including Italy. But when the subject turned to cooking and his favourite food – pasta – things got even more informal.
Len has bladder cancer and cares for his wife Shirley, who has Alzheimer’s. Pictured, the pair together
Len explained how he and the Duchess of Cambridge talked about work, and families, and the countries he has travelled to
It’s believed the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured, with Len and Prince William) even sent Len a pasta machine after their first chat
Kate wore her brown hair loose for the visit, and could be seen wearing a navy coat which featured gold button detail. Pictured, with Prince William
Len continued: ‘She said, “Do you make your own pasta?” I said, “No, love, I haven’t got a pasta machine.’ In any case the flour they use is called 00 and it’s hard to get.’
Afterwards he said: ‘Yes, I used the word “love” because it’s a northern word. We don’t mean anything in depth by it. We just mean friendly.’
He went on to say they talked about the ‘ordinary things in life – adding it was a very nice conversation.’ But the biggest surprise was yet to come.
‘About four days later I got a brand new pasta machine from Buckingham Palace so I could make my own pasta,’ he said. ‘Not only that, two days later I got two kilos of 00 Italian flour to make the pasta with.’
Now, he said, ‘we have pasta about once a week – fresh, home-made pasta.’
Len explained he referred to the Royal as ‘love’ because it’s a northern word, conveying friendliness
Despite their face coverings, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared in visibly good spirits during the socially distanced meeting
Len gushed that the royals sent him two kilos of 00 Italian flour to make pasta, two days after the arrival of a new pasta machine
A local orchestra lined the streets as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had an in-depth conversation with Len
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge both donned protective face masks for the visit (pictured, together)
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travelled on the royal train across the UK ahead of the Christmas holidays to pay tribute to the incredible work of individuals and organisations that have gone above and beyond in response to the coronavirus pandemic (pictured)
The royals received a warm welcome from a local orchestra as they met with the pensioners today (pictured)
It comes after news Kate Middleton has been secretly volunteering during the pandemic and made two 30-minute calls to the lonely cancer-stricken 85-year-old who is a full-time carer for his wife with dementia
The Duchess was connected with Len Gardner, of Batley, West Yorkshire, pictured, via the Royal Voluntary Service earlier this year
Len added that he wasn’t too fazed about meeting the duchess.
‘I am especially pleased about this day,’ he said. ‘It will live with me forever.’
Len and Shirley have been very involved with the Scouts throughout their lives and they spoke about the organisation, of which Kate is joint President, reports The Sun.
He said Kate and William are a ‘brilliant couple’ for reaching out to people and it’s now top of his ‘bucket list’ to meet the Duchess in person.
Len, who had a brother at the D-Day landings and a sister in the Land Army, said it took a long time for him to ‘swallow his pride’ and ask for help from the Royal Voluntary Service, as he was was brought up in an era when you didn’t accept charity.
Yesterday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the UK to thank frontline workers for their work throughout the pandemic
Len said Kate and William (pictured during a video call last month) are a ‘brilliant couple’ for reaching out to people and it’s now top of his ‘bucket list’ to meet the Duchess in person
According to Len, who has bladder cancer and has been undergoing radiotherapy and had an operation last week, the Duchess dispensed with formalities when he asked how he should address her
He and Shirley used to attend social groups hosted by the RVS, and when those stopped due to Covid-19 the organisation sorted volunteers to take care of Len’s shopping and check-in with regular calls.
Len has kept busy during the pandemic by redecorating his kitchen and writing a book about his life – as well as spending precious time with Shirley, taking her out for picnics when restrictions eased over the summer.
He admitted he often feels lonely, especially in the evenings, and struggles with the fact his ‘intelligent’ wife now can’t communicate with him like she used to.
The RVS is one of the largest volunteering organisations in the country to date, inspiring and enabling over 3 million people to give their time to help others to meet the needs of the day.
It runs the NHS Volunteer Responder programme with the GoodSAM app, which recruited over 500,000 volunteers during the first lockdown – however it’s now encouraging more to sign up for the winter months.
Catherine Johnstone CBE, the Royal Voluntary Service CEO, told The Sun: ‘We are incredibly grateful to The Duchess of Cambridge for kindly supporting the NHS Volunteer Responders programme.
‘Her “check-in-and-chat” call to Len has meant the world to him. It’s so important to highlight the power of conversation… you really can make someone’s day.’