International Nurses Day: The British royal family celebrates together

International Nurses Day was celebrated this Tuesday around the world. To mark the occasion, the British royal family came together to speak to the nurses and express gratitude for their devotion and fearlessness particularly during the time of coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Buckingham Palace released a clip featuring the royals' conversation with nurses around the world. The video opens with Queen Elizabeth II's audio recording of her telephonic conversation with Professor Kathleen McCourt, president of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation. It is followed by a montage of video calls made by the royals to the nurses.

"Oh it is, it's quite special the International Nurses' Day being recognised by the general public." The Queen can be heard saying in the clip. "Yes, because they've obviously had a very important part to play recently..." before handing over to the rest of the royal family.

Then, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall appear on the video sending out a message to the nurses of the country and over the world.

"My family and I want to join in the chorus of thank yous to nursing and midwifery staff all over the country, and indeed, the world," Charles says in the video.

We get a glimpse of a group chat whereby Countess of Wessex and Duchess of Cambridge came together to chat with some well-deserving nurses from India, Sierra Leone, Malawi, the Bahamas, and the British Army nurses in Cyprus.

"I don't know how you manage to do this and keep the show on the road despite the extra pressures you're all under and the challenging conditions – it's just shown how vital the role that nurses play across the world. You should be so proud of the work that you do," Kate says.

Apart from the above-mentioned royals, we also see Prince William getting connected with the nurses at the award-winning Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. In the end, Prince Charles of Wales says: "Thank you all so much for the diligence and courage you have shown."

International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12 every year to mark the birth of Florence Nightingale's and nurses' contributions to our lives. It was first celebrated by the International Council of Nurses in the year 1965. Each year the occasion is celebrated with a new theme. In 2019 it followed the theme "Nurses: A Voice to Lead: Health for all" and in 2020, it is "Nursing the world to health."