Prince William and Kate Middleton surprise paramedic's dad via FaceTime during public outing

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out to visit Newham Ambulance Station in East London on Thursday - and ended up speaking to a paramedic's dad in Bangladesh via FaceTime.

Prince William and Kate carried out their second in-person engagement since returning to the capital last week.

The couple spoke with ambulance staff and paramedics about their experiences of working during one of the most challenging periods in the London Ambulance Service's history.

READ: Prince William and Kate Middleton share sweet exchange in new video

WATCH: William and Kate speak with paramedic's dad via FaceTime

William and Kate joined paramedic Jay Khan in the station's Wellbeing Garden to hear how she dealt with the pressures of responding to the Covid-19 crisis and the impact of having to isolate from her family.

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William looked smart in a navy jacket for the public visit, while wife Kate donned a repeat camel coat from Massimo Dutti with a matching polo neck jumper. 

The Duchess accessorised with sentimental jewellery and her Métier London Roma bag. 

MORE: Kate Middleton wears sentimental jewels for surprise new appearance

Jay FaceTimed her father, Abu, in Bangladesh, who has been separated from his family due to lockdown. 

William said: "You must be very proud of your daughter."

Abu replied: "Yes we are all very proud of her."

The royals also joined a call with Jay's sister Nasrin and granddad Baharam in the UK.

William told them: "She works very hard and she's looking forward to seeing you soon.”

Kate said: "Hopefully it won't be too long before you can all meet up and see each other again."

The couple laughed as Jay told her family: "Say bye now. Let them go."

William quipped: "We can stay here and do some more family chatting if that works?"

William and Kate also heard more about the mental health and wellbeing support provided to staff at the Station, including drop-in sessions and wellbeing spaces, alongside some of the wider initiatives provided by the London Ambulance Service including their fleet of Wellbeing Tea Trucks.

Launched in February 2020, the tea trucks travel to hospitals and control centres across the capital each day, serving hot drinks and snacks to ambulance staff and volunteers and offering them the chance to take a moment to pause and refresh.

The trucks also allow staff who are currently unable to work in patient-facing roles the opportunity to give back to their frontline colleagues.

At the Station, the Duke and Duchess met paramedic Shani Smith who has been helping to run one of the trucks over the past year, and heard how she has used her mental health training to provide peer support to her colleagues.

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