William was visiting the East Suffolk team at the East of England Ambulance Service when he made the call
(Picture: ESNEFT/Twitter)Prince William has left school students in fits of laughter after video-calling them on their lunch break as he made a surprise visit to Ipswich Ambulance Station where a parent worked.
The Prince of Wales was visiting the East Suffolk team at the East of England Ambulance Service and had been given some royal-themed cupcakes by staff member Kerry Gaskin.
She and the royal then sat on a video call to her child and other school students from Colchester in Essex.
The Prince appeared relaxed as he cracked jokes with the group of teenagers, who were eating their lunch at a table while surrounding a person’s phone.
At one point, William was heard saying: “Your mother is feeding me her cakes,” as he held up a cupcake to the camera while Ms Gaskin sat next to him.
“They’re not very good. I told her she wouldn’t win [The Great British] Bake Off,” the Prince joked before cheekily smiling at Ms Gaskin, a Service Delivery Manager for Performance Improvement.
Earlier in the phone call he asked the students: “Are you friends with Ed Sheeran then, who’s the guy in the corner?” as he pointed out a red-haired pupil among the group.
The quip received a round of laughs from the students.
Prince William also checked if the teenagers were “doing any work”, to which they all chimed in saying: “No, we’re at lunch”.
The video call was shared on TikTok, with a number of users praising the Prince for his casual humour and “roasting” of Ms Gaskin’s baking.
Thank-you to our very own @kerryjgaskin for making the royal cupcakes - Mary Berry would be proud. Think its fair to say, the prince loved them!
— EEAST_East Suffolk Team (@EEAST_SuffolkE) February 10, 2023
🧁👑🚑 pic.twitter.com/dA6dd636R2
East Suffolk Assistant General Manager Chris Connor tweeted that the surprise visit from the royal on Friday was “a real honour”.
He said the Prince took the time to thank all the staff, as he shared photos of William talking to uniformed ambulance workers.
The East Suffolk team also tweeted a photo of the cupcakes, saying: “Mary Berry would be proud. Think it’s fair to say, the prince loved them!”
A real honour to welcome @KensingtonRoyal to today, who took to time to visit and thank all of our amazing staff today 🚑💚 @EEAST_SuffolkE @EastEnglandAmb and @kerryjgaskin for the amazing cakes! pic.twitter.com/z4cchOqIPq
— Chris Connor (@Chrisconnor88) February 10, 2023
Ambulance services have been under pressure as a number of union members have staged walkouts across NHS England.
Further strikes will be held on February 20 and March 6 and 20.
The action will include paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers in seven of the 10 English ambulance services, along with the national Welsh service.
Not all staff will strike at once, however. Under trade union law emergency cover will still be provided and staff can leave the picket lines to attend.
The union has requested raises above inflation. However, as suggested by the independent NHS Pay Review Body, the governments of England and Wales have granted an average of 4.75 per cent to NHS employees, with everyone being promised at least £1,400.
Despite recent data showing a slowdown in the rate of price increases, that is less than half the rate of inflation.
