Officially YouTubers! One day after announcing their Duke and Duchess of Cambridge channel, Prince William and Duchess Kate uploaded their first official video on Thursday, May 6.
The video features the 39-year-old duchess’ phone calls with 4-year-old cancer patient Mila Sneddon, a finalist from the National Portrait Gallery’s Hold Still photography exhibition.
“Good morning. Goodness me, you’re so polite, Mila!” Kate began in the August 2020 call after the little one answered the phone saying, “Good morning, Your Royal Highness.”
The photo submitted for the contest featured Mila’s father, Scott, visiting her and her mother, Lynda, through a window as they self-isolated separately during the young child’s leukemia treatments amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“When he came into the house I was, like, so surprised,” Mila told Kate after she asked how hard it was not to see her father.
The 4-year-old subsequently asked Kate whether she was wearing a costume, to which she replied, “I’m not wearing a princess costume right now, I’m afraid Mila.”
Kate also spoke to Mila’s mother.
“We took the decision to isolate separately before lockdown because we were very conscious about what was happening, certainly in Europe, and in the U.K., at that time,” Lynda, who is also the mother of daughter Jodi, told Kate. “But our lockdown did come with a bit of a silver lining because she’s still going through treatment and her immune system is compromised. Lockdown for us, you know, allowed us a period of time to focus on her treatment without interruption of illnesses and viruses in general, not just Covid-19. We’ve had our ups and downs.”
Kate ended the call, “I’m very grateful. And also [thank you] for sharing such a personal time.”
The duke, 38, and duchess announced their YouTube channel on Wednesday, May 5, sharing an introductory video featuring their three kids: Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3.
“Be careful what you say now, because these guys, they’re filming everything,” William joked before a supercut of their family and royal duties played.
Kate replied, “I know!”
In addition to their YouTube channel launch, the couple tweaked their Instagram from “@KensingtonRoyal” to “@DukeandDuchessofCambridge.” The news came after Us Weekly exclusively reported on William’s plans to “modernize” the monarchy as he prepares to be king one day.
“William is already thinking about the future of the Monarchy and the changes he’ll make,” the insider said. “While he respects protocol, he plans to modernize some aspects and is making it his mission to be more relatable than previous generations.”
