LONDON (CU)_Queen Elizabeth II, Patron of the Royal Voluntary Service, along with the charity’s President, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall thanked the millions of people who volunteered during the pandemic in Britain, including those who delivered medicine, food and even friendship to those who were forced to stay at home for months.
During a video call with two Royal Voluntary Service volunteers and two NHS Volunteer Responders, Her Majesty said: “I think its wonderful work. Thank you to everybody – and all the others too who have been volunteering. It has been a great help.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” The Duchess of Cornwall added.
The call follows a recent visit by The Duchess Cornwall to a vaccination site in Wembley where she thanked NHS Volunteer Responder Stewards for their service.
According to the Royal Voluntary Service, several other members of the Royal Family, including The Duchess of Cambridge and The Countess of Wessex, have also expressed their support toward the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme by making ‘Check in and Chat’ calls.
Throughout the pandemic, volunteers of the national charity provided essential support to those in need, including grocery and prescription deliveries, free food packs to vulnerable people and to NHS teams, companionship calls, home library deliveries and much more.
Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service, who also joined the called, said it was a real honour for the volunteers to speak and be thanked by Her Majesty and Her Royal Highness.
“We are incredibly grateful to them both for taking the time to have this call. It was an incredibly special event,” she said.
Queen Mary was the first Patron of the Royal Voluntary Service when it was established in 1938, and her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth followed her footsteps to become the organisation’s Patron in 1952. The Duchess of Cornwall has been the president of the Charity since 2012 and regularly visits branches of the organisation and meets volunteers with the service across the UK.
