Prince William and Kate have been honoured with a very special award, which, coincidentally, the Queen also has. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were presented with a Gold Blue Peter badge during a visit to the BBC studios last week, for their campaign work on mental health and mental health issues affecting children. On Tuesday, Kensington Palace shared a video of their pre-recorded TV appearance.
"That's very touching. Thank you very, very much," said William. "Wow, that's amazing ... We have won a badge!" He said of the couple's work on mental health: "We've still got a long way to go yet but we are getting there. A shift is happening and we will hopefully crack a problem that should have been cracked a long time ago."
Prince William and Kate were awarded a Blue Peter gold badge
His wife Kate, who concealed her baby bump in a festive red dress, added: "It's hugely special. Mental health has been a learning process for us too... We want to get everyone talking about it so it hasn't got that stigma it's had." When the couple were informed that the Queen also has a Gold badge – the programme's highest award – William joked: "We'll compare!"
Her Majesty, 91, was awarded the badge during her Golden Jubilee year in 2002. The badge, a gold-plated brooch in the shape of the ship logo, is given for exceptional achievement, for example to people who have performed acts of extreme bravery, or represented their country in a major event. JK Rowling, David Beckham, Steven Spielberg and Roald Dahl have all received one.
Kate concealed her bump in a red dress by Goat
Blue Peter editor Ewan Vinnicombe said: "It was a real honour to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the Blue Peter studios in our 60th year. It was lovely to show them how much we value our audience getting involved with the show through letters, Fan Club comments on the website and the fantastic artwork they send to us every week. His Royal Highness was particularly impressed with a drawing of his grandmother wearing a tiara that one of the children had sent in."
William and Kate recorded the video during their visit to Manchester last week. Viewers can see the couple being presented with their badges in Thursday's live Blue Peter Christmas special at 5.30pm on CBBC.