Kate and William End Their National Tour With the Rest of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle

On 7th Dec., the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge [1] set off on a three-day national royal tour aboard the Royal Train. [2]

Kate and William covered approximately 1,250 miles over three days across England, Scotland, and Wales in an effort to thank individuals and communities for their work during the coronavirus pandemic [3]. On Monday evening, the couple set off on their journey from London's Euston station, where they kicked off with a special tribute to transport workers from Transport for London and Network Rail, chatting to workers about their experiences as key workers during this difficult year. They were also surprised with a special performance of "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens.

To celebrate their arrival and the beginning of the tour, Network Rail staff altered the departure board at Euston to read, "Warmerhampton instead of Wolverhampton, Coventry Carol instead of Coventry, and Northpolehampton instead of Northampton." Prince William has taken a number of trips on the train before, but it's believed this is Kate's first.

Kate and William's first day was a busy one. Their first stop aboard the Royal Train was Edinburgh, Scotland where they met paramedics and staff from the Scottish Ambulance Service. From there, they visited Holy Trinity Church of England First School in Berwick-Upon-Tweed. Then it was off to West Yorkshire to meet Len Gardner, who Kate had spoken to on the phone as part of the NHS Volunteer Responder "Check in and Chat" Scheme. And finally, Manchester to meet and thank volunteers at FareShare, who "redistributes surplus food to frontline charities".

Their second day, however, was even busier, making various stops across Wales, including a visit to Cardiff Castle where the couple were treated to a Christmas village (complete with hot drinks, reindeer, and toasted marshmallows), before they sat down with students from Cardiff University to listen to how what it's been like during the pandemic with a focus on mental health. Next up, Kate and Will travelled to Bath, where they stopped by the Cleeve Court Care Home to wave hello (masked and socially distanced) to the residents and pay tribute to the staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

During the latter half of the day, the Cambridge's visited the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England, where Kate was born in January 1982. After greeting and thanking the staff for all of their hard work — and listening to a performance by the Reading All Steel Percussion Orchestra (Raspo) — the duke and duchess boarded the train to arrive at their last and final stop, Windsor Castle, where they reunited with Queen Elizabeth II and senior members of the royal family including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Anne, Princess Royal, as well as Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex. There, they listened to the Regent Hall Band of the Salvation Army, who are based in London's Oxford Street, play Christmas carols, and met various frontline workers to thank them for their service.

Keep reading to see all the photos from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's whirlwind miniature tour aboard the Royal Train.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Windsor

The last and final stop on the Cambridge's tour on the Royal Train ended at Windsor Castle, where they joined Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex to thank key workers and volunteers for all of their hard work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Windsor

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Reading

The Cambridge's eighth stop on the tour was the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England where the greeted some of the staff, including nurses and midwives who have been working tirelessly through the pandemic.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Reading

According to the Reading Chronicle, The Great British Bake Off team sent a special cake [4] to the hospital that pays tribute to the staff's hard work over the past year.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Reading

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Bath

In Bath, the royal couple visited the Cleve Court Care Home, where they sat met with staff.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Bath

The couple arriving at the Cleve Court Care Home.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Bath

The Duchess greets local children on their way to the In Bath, the Cleve Court Care Home.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Bath

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving at Bath Spa train station.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Bath

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Cardiff

Arriving at the Cardiff Castle, where the to the couple met with local university students For their second day, the duke and duchess visited Cardiff and joined students from Cardiff University for some marshmallow toasting, a secret santa exchange, and listen about the challenges they've faced in the last year due to the pandemic — with a focus on mental health.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day Two in Cardiff

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Manchester

Kate and William's final stop of the first day of their Royal Train tour was Manchester to meet and thank volunteers at FareShare who "redistributes surplus food to frontline charities".

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Manchester

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in West Yorkshire

Next up was West Yorkshire where the duke and duchess visited Len Gardner, who Kate had spoken to on the phone as part of the NHS Volunteer Responder "Check in and Chat" Scheme.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in West Yorkshire

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Berwick-upon-Tweed

Kate and William's second stop on their first day was Berwick-upon-Tweed to visit Holy Trinity Church of England First School to chat with the children and also thank teachers for their ongoing efforts over the past year.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Berwick-upon-Tweed

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Edinburgh

Their first stop on day one was Edinburgh, where they were met off the train by piper Louise Marshall. In Edinburgh, the royals met paramedics and staff from the Scottish Ambulance Service to thank them for the service throughout the pandemic.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One in Edinburgh

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One at Euston Station

To set off on their journey, Kate and William were surprised with a performance of "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens while they met with transport workers from Transport for London and Network Rail.

Kate and William’s Royal Train Tour: Day One at Euston Station

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