PRINCE William has joked with medics about spreading coronavirus with Kate Middleton on the couple’s Ireland trip.
The Duke of Cambridge poked fun at himself as he shook hands with locals as the number of cases for the deadly bug in the UK reaches 53.
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It came after the Queen took precautions against coronavirus – wearing gloves for the investitures ceremony yesterday.
The 93-year-old donned the white gloves as she recognised worth Brits – the first time she has worn the accessory for the event at Buckingham Palace.
And Prince William talked about the infection as he chatted to emergency workers at a reception hosted by Britain’s Ambassador to Ireland Robin Barnett in the Gravity Bar at Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse.
The dad-of-three asked Joe Mooney, an advance paramedic with the National Ambulance Service: “I bet everyone’s like ‘I’ve got coronavirus, I’m dying’, and you’re like ‘no, you’ve just got a cough’.
“Does it seem quite dramatic about coronavirus at the moment? Is it being a little bit hyped up do you think in the media?”
And he later grimaced with mock horror as he said: “By the way, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spreading coronavirus, Sorry.
“We’re keeping an eye on that, so do tell us if we need to stop.”
The couple shook hands with dozens of people on the first day of their tour and are expected to continue to do so, based on advice they are being given.
A royal source said last night the couple were following guidance from Public Health England and the Department of Health and that meant “business as usual” for now.
“This is a discussion we have been having and everything we are doing should continue as usual,” said the source.
William and Kate enjoyed a pint of Guinness at the Storehouse – a major visitor attraction which tells the story of the famous drink – with the duke toasting his hosts in Gaelic, raising his pint and saying “Slainte”.
GLOWING IN GREEN
Speaking at the reception, William joked that he never imagined to follow the Queen into a pub.
Addressing his hosts and fellow guests, he said: “We are retracing the footsteps of my grandmother, who was shown how to pour the perfect pint here in 2011.
“Ladies and Gentlemen let me tell you it is not often that I find myself following the Queen to a pub!”
The duke and duchess’s outing came after a day of formal engagements to launch their first official visit to Ireland, nine years after the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the country since its independence.
They met Irish President Michael D Higgins at the statesman’s official residence Aras an Uachtarain where they discussed the implications of Brexit and talked about building on the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement which ushered in peace in Northern Ireland.
In Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance, the royals also honoured the memory of those who gave their lives for Irish Independence from Britain, echoing the Queen’s symbolic visit there in 2011 when she bowed her head in tribute to the fallen.
The couple then met the outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Ireland’s Government Buildings.
Their three-day tour will focus on the themes of reconciliation, youth, culture, sustainability and the environment, and will see the couple visit the counties of Meath, Kildare and Galway.
