Royal UK train tour: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Edinburgh

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were today named joint patrons of NHS Charities Together as they arrived in Scotland for the first stop on their whistlestop Christmas tour of the UK.

It is the couple's first joint patronage beyond their own Royal Foundation.

The announcement was made as the royal train pulled into Edinburgh's Waverley station to the sound of a piper playing Christmas songs including Jingle Bells and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

The Duke, wearing a tartan scarf, and the Duchess, wearing a blue Catherine Walker coat and Liberty print facemask,  were met by Deputy Lord Lieutenant Sandra Cumming.

The couple are making ten stops in Scotland, England and Wales as they pay tribute to those who have gone “above and beyond” this year, making personal sacrifices to help others during the pandemic.

Festive send send-off

The Duke and Duchess received a rock and roll send-off at London's Euston station last night as Shakin’ Stevens serenaded them with his festive hit single Merry Christmas Everyone.

Before boarding the royal train, the couple wrote a personal message of thanks to transport workers on a London Underground service information board.

It read: "Thank you to all transport workers everywhere for keeping the country moving throughout this difficult year.

"Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Catherine. William"

The Duke asked Orson Parris, a network traffic controller for TfL: “How’s it been coming to work with all the restrictions? It can’t have been easy.”

The Duchess added: “It’s so quiet here isn’t it. Very strange, it must be so weird.”

Mr Parris nodded in agreement before the Duke said: “Fingers crossed 2021 gets things back to normal.”

New patronage will 'inspire the public'

The 240 NHS charities in the UK provide additional funding and services beyond NHS core funds, supporting hospitals, community and mental health services and ambulances services.

In recent years they have funded major capital projects, pioneering research and medical equipment at hospitals across the UK, helping patients access the best possible care when they need it most.

Ian Lush, chair of NHS Charities Together, said of the royal patronage: “This is such an honour for our organisation and for all the NHS charities across the UK.

“The involvement of Their Royal Highnesses will inspire the public to do even more to support the amazing NHS staff and volunteers who have done so much to keep us safe and well this year. We can’t wait to start working with The Duke and Duchess, the potential is so exciting.”

Cambridges sent flowers to family of veteran paramedic

The Cambridges this morning heard how the Scottish Ambulance Service has 5,000 employees and provides an emergency service to more than five million across Scotland and its island communities.

Each year, it responds to more than 1.5 million calls for assistance, more than 600,000 of which are emergency and unscheduled incidents.

It emerged during the visit that the Duke and Duchess had sent a bouquet of flowers to the family of a veteran paramedic who died last month after re-enlisting in April, four years after his retirement.

Rod Moore, from Falkirk, died aged 63 after contracting coronavirus. His funeral was due to take place during the royal visit.

An SAS spokesman said: “I know that Rod's family greatly appreciated the flowers sent on behalf of the Royal Family. It was a lovely gesture.”

The Duke spoke at length with paramedics about how the additional strains of working under the threat of Covid had impacted on their mental wellbeing.

He and the Duchess, who was carrying a bag by Scottish designer Strathberry, also heard how paramedic Alistair Matson, 54, had to cope with his father falling ill and dying in hospital during the pandemic.

Mr Matson said: “It was very emotional talking to the Prince about losing my father. He was very anxious to hear how we managed to cope with the mental strains of our job.

“I was helped considerably by the great sense of camaraderie at my work. There was never any rush to come back and they have been like another family to me. It was really heartening to see the Royal couple here today acknowledging what we do and their thanks means a lot to us.”

His colleague, John Kane, 59, told the royals that he had spent three weeks in an induced coma in Edinburgh's Western General Hospital after contracting the virus.

“It was a terrifying time and the recovery has been slow, but again the SAS has helped that. The Prince was particularly interested in how we manage the mental wellbeing of our own staff.”

The couple also made a particular point of thanking the cleaning staff at the unit, telling cleaner Ellen Reeder, 65, that she was “one of the most important people in the whole organisation, keeping everything together.”

Afterwards, Ms Reeder said: “It was such an honour for me to meet them. They kept it secret until this morning, which is just as well or I would have got tongue-tied speaking to them. That has really made my day. In fact, I think it has made everyone's day here to get that appreciation from the Royals.. I am a huge fan.”

'Rent a Reindeer' treat for primary school

At the next stop, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, the couple met a reindeer called Chaz at Holy Trinity Church of England First School.

They were at the primary school to thank teachers for their efforts to support learning during the coronavirus crisis.

Local saxophone group The Earl Grey Saxes played Christmas tunes, including Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, while 175 pupils, many wearing antlers and Santa hats, waved and sang to greet the royal visitors.

As a treat for the children, Kensington Palace arranged for Rent a Reindeer to bring three animals to the school.

Owner George Richardson brought along Chaz, Crackers and her six-month-old calf Echols, telling the Duke and Duchess about caring for them and how coronavirus had affected his business.

Mr Richardson, who is based in Cold Hesledon, County Durham, said the booking had been “top secret.”

He said: “We got a phone call out of the blue two weeks ago, they asked us to bring a reindeer for the Royal visit and we were happy to oblige.

“We brought these three as a group, although Chaz is not the dad as he has been castrated, he is the uncle. Mum and baby go with him and they are a nice group.

“This was baby's first outing and she took it in her stride.”

After the visit, headteacher Nicholas Shaw said: “It has been fantastic and the children loved it.

“We feel honoured to have been chosen and appreciate they are taking the time to think about teachers and the work that has been going on in schools.

“It has been a challenge during lockdown, a lot of new skills have been learned.

“We stayed open throughout for children of key workers and vulnerable children.”