Prince William has been doing a "lot of baking" during lockdown.
The 37-year-old royal – who has Princes George, six, and Louis, two, and Princess Charlotte, five, with wife Duchess Catherine – returned to face-to-face engagements on Tuesday (16.06.20) with a visit to staff from the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, and joked he was "worried about the waistline of the nation" due to people having more time to eat treats while isolating at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: "I’m worried about the waistline of the nation as well with all the chocolate and cakes. I’ve done a lot of baking at home. Chocolate goes down very well."
With lockdown measures imposed to slow the spread of the virus gradually being eased, William is looking forward to being able to get a drink in a pub when they are allowed to open their doors once again.
He quipped: "I look forward to messages when we can drink more and go out to the local pub and have a pint."
When he arrived at the ambulance station,William took a temperature test and washed his hands, but had to stop himself from shaking hands with staff.
He said: "I’m still fighting the urge to shake hands. I’m keeping my hands by my side."
The prince praised the weekly Clap for Carers initiative, describing it as a "powerful" way to show appreciation.
He said: "It was powerful wasn’t it. Everyone appreciates the NHS. Countries around the world envy what we have."
William and Catherine have launched the Our Frontline scheme to support mental health of frontline workers during the pandemic and the prince – who is a former air ambulance pilot -admitted he was keen for male paramedics in particular to speak out.
He said: "I imagine there’s going to be a big impact in terms of mental health for frontline workers.
"A statistic I read the other day was that male paramedics were 75 per cent higher risk of severe mental health issues.
"How do we get guys to talk about issues?"
Staff told William that managers had all been given three hours ‘Spot The Signs’ training for staff.
He replied: "You are the first people on the scene so by osmosis you take in emotions around you it’s how best you make sure the training is there from the beginning."
Before leaving, William turned to the group of staff and said: "Thank you for all your hard work."