Year in Review: 2020 (Part Two)
Picking up The Cambridges’ year in review (you can read Part One here!) after their summer break as they returned for a very busy final months of the year:
On September 8th, The Duke of Cambridge returned to work as he visited to Belfast to mark 999 Day!
The Duke’s first stop was at Belfast’s Police College where he met emergency service chiefs of police, fire and ambulance chiefs to speak about the impact of Covid-19.
He also met heroes from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and paramedics from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
At Belfast’s Police College, Prince William gave a speech where he said: “Today is 999 day, a day when we come together to celebrate and thank the two million people, just like you in this room, who put their own lives on the line, time and time again to keep the rest of us safe and healthy.”
Full engagement video:
For his second engagement, The Duke of Cambridge visited Cavehill Country Park to meet Community Rescue volunteers who are providing lowland search and rescue services across the county and to hear about the mental health issues around being a volunteer emergency responder.
Full video:
On September 14th, The Final 100 photos selected for The Duchess of Cambridge’s “Hold Still” project we’re displayed in an online exhibit! I wrote a full blog post about that project plus some of my favorite photos which you can find here.
Today's the day!
The Hold Still digital exhibition is now live and we are delighted to share with you the final 100 portraits selected from the 31,598 submissions! #HoldStill2020 pic.twitter.com/n5Jrel657y
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 14, 2020
On September 15th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a day of engagements in East London meeting people trying to get business and communities up and running amid COVID-19!
Their first stop was at the London Bridge JobCenter where they spoke to a group of customers who are now jobless following the Covid-19 outbreak and are receiving support to move back into work. More info: “Employers also spoke about their experiences trying to help people find jobs during the outbreak”.
Full video of that engagement:
Next, The Duke and Duchess visited the East London Mosque & London Muslim Center where they met volunteers who cooked and delivered meals to vulnerable members of the community during the pandemic and dropped off medication or grocery parcels. They also met the people who benefited from their support.
Full Video:
Finally, William and Kate visited Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery where they tried their hand at bagel making & heard how the famous shop had reduced hours but still helped the local community through food delivery.
And the full video of that engagement:
On September 22nd, The Duchess of Cambridge visited Battersea Park where she “lent her support to parents helping each other out during the pandemic”.
The Duchess heard from mothers and fathers who have been given vital support and visits despite lockdown. She was “was told how peer groups struggled to meet up during Covid-19 lockdown and how important access to outside space is to their health and wellbeing”.
Right before her visit, Kate held a video call where she spoke with representatives and volunteers from eight different organisations who run peer-to-peer support programs.
Across the UK there are many thousands of parents who use their time, experience and knowledge to support other parents and families.
This morning The Duchess spoke with representatives and volunteers from seven different organisations who run peer-to-peer support programmes. pic.twitter.com/1emTYGBKOB
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 22, 2020
Full video of her engagement:
At the end of September, The Duke of Cambridge joined Sir David Attenborough for an outdoor screening of his new feature film.
After the screening, Sir David Attenborough got to meet the Cambridge Children who, according to their parents, are huge fans! As you can tell by Charlotte’s face, I’m sure she was very excited to meet him!
Sir David Attenborough gave Prince George a giant shark tooth that he found on a family holiday back in the late 1960s!
On September 29th, The Duchess of Cambridge visited 12th Northolt Scouts Group where she joined the group for some Whirlybird making, marsh mallow toasting, and making some Care for Care Home Cards.
It was announced that day that The Duchess had become Joint President of The Scouts Association with The Duke of Kent!
Today The Duchess of Cambridge has become Joint President of @UKScouting with The Duke of Kent. pic.twitter.com/I1t0JA8TEq
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 29, 2020
Full video of her engagement:
On October 3rd, Kensington Palace releases a very sweet video of the Cambridge Kiddos asking their hero, Sir David Attenborough, some questions!
Two days later, on the 5th, a documentary, about The Duke of Cambridge’s conservation work titled “Prince William: A Planet For Us All” premiered on ITV where new pictures of the kids were showed:
On October 6th, The Duchess of Cambridge visited the University of Derby where she heard how the pandemic has impacted university life, and what national measures have been put in place to support student mental health.
Full video of her engagement:
On October 7th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge held an audience with the President of Ukraine and his wife at Buckingham Palace!
On October 8th, The Duke of Cambridge officially launched his biggest project: The Earthshot Prize. This prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history. Below is the official launch video with Prince William and Sir David Attenborough but also check out their YouTube Channel for more videos!
On October 10th, The Duke of Cambridge gave a TEDTalk as part of TedCountdown which was the first free and virtual TED conference devoted entirely to championing and accelerating solutions to the climate crisis.
On October 13th, The Duchess of Cambridge appeared at the first live streamed Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards and presented an award to the top winner!
On October 14th, The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Institute of Reproductive and Development Biology at Imperial College London to hear about the work the charity Tommy’s is doing to reduce rates of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
The visit happened during Baby Loss Awareness Week. Full video below:
On October 15th, The Duke of Cambridge joined Her Majesty The Queen as she undertook her first public engagement since lockdown! They visited the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to formally open the new Energetics Analysis Center.
Her Majesty and Prince William met members of the military who were directly involved in the Novichok incident. In recognition of their work The Duke presented the Firmin Sword of Peace to representatives of 102 Logistic Brigade.
A full video of their rare joint engagement:
On October 16th, Kensington Palace marked one year since their tour of Pakistan with videos of William and Kate reuniting with two charities they visited:
Having visited the SOS children's village twice during their tour last year, The Duke and Duchess were reminded of their cricket skills, or perhaps lack of cricket skills in this instance… pic.twitter.com/PxbOhhigNc
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) October 16, 2020
On October 20th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge viewed some of the final 100 “Hold Still” images that were displayed on the streets of London!
They then met with NHS workers at St.Barts, three of which were featured in the final 100 images for their image ‘All in this together’.
Full video from their first engagement:
and the second one:
The next day, The Duke of Cambridge visited The Royal Marsden in Sutton to mark the start of construction for the Trust’s Oak Cancer Centre 30 years after Diana, Princess of Wales, laid a ceremonial foundation stone to commemorate the building of the Chelsea Wing.
Full Video:
On November 1st, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made an appearance on the Pride of Britain Awards where they paid tribute to the NHS frontline workers.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid tribute to our frontline heroes. Watch the Pride of Britain awards tonight on ITV at 9pm #celebratingheroes #prideofbritain@DailyMirror @TSB pic.twitter.com/sHnwOMVUnC
— Pride of Britain (@PrideOfBritain) November 1, 2020
On November 8th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined other Members of The Royal Family at the Cenotaph for the annual Remembrance Sunday service.
The Duchess of Cambridge watched from the Balcony while The Duke laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in honor of those who lost their lives fighting.
During that week, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge marked remembrance week with some video calls. The Duchess talked to families supported by the Poppy Legion:
The Duchess of Cambridge spoke with Armed Forces families who have lost loved ones to hear about the importance of #Remembrance week to them, and about the support that they receive from the Armed Forces community, other bereaved families, and from @PoppyLegion. pic.twitter.com/fhSZv4HTNz
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 10, 2020
While The Duke talked to deployed military personnel:
As we mark #Remembrance Week, The Duke of Cambridge spoke with deployed representatives from the @RoyalNavy, @BritishArmy and @RoyalAirForce about the important role Remembrance plays in their lives. pic.twitter.com/X1ENawCqay
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 10, 2020
On November 21st, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met beneficiaries of Future Men Fathers Programmes, which help fathers develop their confidence as parents at every stage of their child’s development.
🦸♂️ “We need to be easier on ourselves as men and dads…we don’t have to be superheroes.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met beneficiaries of @FutureMenUK’s Fathers Programmes, which help fathers develop their confidence as parents at every stage of their child’s development. pic.twitter.com/mnVtqt0L2q
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 21, 2020
To make 2020 worse, at the end of November, Kensington Palace announced that the Cambridge Family dog had passed away. He had been with William and Kate since the end of 2011. The Duke and Duchess posted a message on Instagram along with a new photo of their pup: “Very sadly last week our dear dog Lupo passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past 9 years and we will miss him so much.”
On November 23rd, a Monday, The Duchess of Cambridge revealed that she would announce the results from the Early Years survey that Friday.
Join us this week as we announce the results from the 5 Big Questions survey, reveal the #5BigInsights, and take your questions.
This is just the beginning… pic.twitter.com/lKegCA0x2Z
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 23, 2020
That same day, The Duke of Cambridge spoke to Oxford scientists after their announcement of a Covid-19 vaccine that is effective.
This morning, The Duke spoke to @UniofOxford to congratulate them following an important milestone in the fight against #COVID19. An #OxfordVaccine is shown to be 70.4% effective, and tests on two dose regimens show that it could be 90%. pic.twitter.com/izUpnm97v9
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 23, 2020
Kensington palace began the rollout of the The Duchess of Cambridge’s findings from her survey earlier in the year on November 26th.
On November 27th, The Duchess gave the keynote speech at the Early Year’s online Forum with Ipsos MORI which the full findings of the research were discussed.
She also revealed the 5 Big Insights that found during their research after the survey:
On Saturday, November 28th, The Duchess of Cambridge answered some questions straight from Instagram about the early years!
From December 6th-8th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on a nation wide tour of the U.K. on the Royal Train to pay tribute to individuals and organisations that have gone above and beyond in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full blog post here.
On December 11th, The whole Cambridge family, including those Cambridge cuties, attended a special performance of The National Lottery’s Pantoland at The Palladium!
The special performance was held to thank key workers and their families for their phenomenal efforts this year!
Prince Louis sat with his mummy during the performance and, along with his older siblings, were very well behaved.
George and Charlotte seem to have such a sweet relationship! It’s so heartwarming:
Princess Charlotte watched the performance so animatedly! Love this photo of her clinging to her mum and Kate laughing:
Prince George looking like such a little man. I can’t believe how big he’s gotten:
During the interval, The Duke and Duchess met a small number of key worker families to hear more about their experiences over the past year.
It was reported that George and Charlotte asked for William to sit in between them so it was probably after the interval that they moved around:
It was such a lovely Christmas surprise! Full video:
On December 16th, Kensington Palace officially released The Cambridges’ Christmas card photo taken by their favorite photographer, Matt Porteous!
Check out Part One if you haven’t already PLUS William and Kate’s full engagement count of the year.
It’s been such a crazy and unexpected year! My heart goes out to all of you who lost anyone to COVID-19 or anything else that happened during these challenging months. Looking ahead to 2021 with a hopeful heart for the future. Thank you so much for reading and have a safe and Happy New Year! ♡
P.s. For obvious reasons my 2020 predictions didn’t come to fruition. So I won’t even attempt predicting anything for 2021 but if you all have any please let me know!
