Prince William is a man of many talents! The royal impressed onlookers at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony on Tuesday by congratulating one of the guests using British Sign Language. William could be seen smiling at TV veteran Alex Duguid as he signed "Congratulations, Alex," with Alex replying, "Thank you." The thoughtful gesture no doubt meant a great deal to Alex, who was bestowed with an MBE for his services to deaf people and to British Sign Language education.
Prince William congratulates Alex Duguid using sign language
Alex has been the face of popular British TV shows Emmerdale and Coronation Street for its deaf audience for decades, as a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. He has also spent the last 30 years helping hundreds of people learn to communicate with the deaf. Alex lost his own hearing at the age of three, when he tripped and fell, fracturing his cheekbone which resulted in total deafness in one ear and severe hearing loss in the other.
A touching tribute to Alex was posted on the official Kensington Palace Instagram page shortly after the investiture ceremony. It reads: "He is an example of how profoundly deaf people can have an impact on their community, their peers and their country. He is passionate about BSL and the need to promote and protect it.
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"Alex has spent the past thirty years giving up his time raising hundreds of thousands of pounds towards community projects benefitting South Tyneside's deaf community, and teaching BSL classes through the organisation Signature, helping hundreds of people communicate with deaf people — visit @signaturedeaf to find out more about their work."