Covid 19 coronavirus: Prince William's bold new plan to fight coronavirus

Prince William reportedly wants to return to the air ambulance service amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 37-year-old royal spent two years as an air ambulance pilot before stepping down in 2017, and sources have claimed he is considering rejoining the service in order to ease the pressure on current National Health Service (NHS) staff during the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus.

A source told the Sun: "William has been seriously considering returning as an air ambulance pilot to help in the current pandemic.

"He knows the whole country is doing its bit and he wants to help. But it's complicated as he was originally grounded from the job so that he could become a senior working royal. But William is very keen to do anything he can to help.

The 37-year-old royal spent two years as an air ambulance pilot before stepping down in 2017. Photo / Getty Images

"There are all sorts of practicalities to overcome, such as fitting in on shift patterns. But he's in the right place now if he wants to do it."

The news comes after William - who has Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and 21-month-old Prince Louis with his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge - was reported to have said he "misses" working with the UK's NHS during a visit to 111 call-centre staff in Croydon, South London, earlier this month.

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Tracy Pidgeon, 54, governance lead and call-handler, said: "He was asking about how busy we have been, and what shifts everybody was doing.

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Self-isolation and social distancing can pose huge challenges to our mental health — in recent weeks The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been in regular contact with organisations and patronages to understand the issues they are facing during this difficult time. Last week ☎️ The Duke spoke to @mindcharity CEO Paul Farmer, and The Duchess spoke to Catherine Roche, CEO of @_place2be. Today Public Health England has published new guidance to help support people during the COVID-19 outbreak, and updated its world-leading Every Mind Matters platform, with specific advice on maintaining good mental wellbeing during the outbreak; take a look at our Story or visit the link in our bio 📱 to find out more. Speaking about the new guidance, The Duke and Duchess said: • “It is great to see the mental health sector working together with the NHS to help people keep on top of their mental well-being. • By pulling together and taking simple steps each day, we can all be better prepared for the times ahead”. • The Government has also announced a grant for @MindCharity to help fund their services for people struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.

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"We were saying everybody was working really hard. He misses the helicopter, being on the front line. He just said he misses it."

William also became patron of the London Air Ambulance Charity earlier this month, and boss Garrett Emmerson said the royal would be "welcome" to join the service "any time".

Garrett said: "As he knows well, we have an air ambulance service here in London.
"I know he would be welcome there any time."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website