The Queen joins in her first online call to celebrate UK care workers

The Queen has joined in her first online call. Photo / Getty Images

The Queen has tuned in to her very first public online call, following in the footsteps of other royal family members who have used it to keep up with their royal responsibilities in lockdown.

The 94-year-old joined Princess Anne, 69, for a conference call with four care workers from throughout the UK who have been caring for family during the coronavirus crisis, according to the Daily Mail.

Tuning in from her sitting room in Windsor Castle, the Queen listened to the women speak about their experiences and asked them questions over the 20-minute call.

In a video clip shared to Twitter today, the Queen said it was "interesting" to hear the stories from essential workers.

"I'm very impressed by what you have achieved already. I'm very glad to have been able to join you today."

The call happened on June 4 but the clip was shared this week to mark Carers Week in the UK.

Anne, who is patron of the Carers Trust, joined in the call from her home of Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire.

The Queen has joined in her first online call. Photo / Getty Images

She and other members of the royal family, including William and Kate and Charles and Camilla, have joined in several video calls with charities that have since been made public.

In the video, Nadia Taylor, 44, from London, spoke about caring for her parents, husband and daughter.

"'The call was about 45 minutes and the Queen was on for about 20 minutes of that. She asked us all questions," Taylor said.

"We talked about how we are all coping in the current climate with Covid-19. I explained to her how much more isolated carers are at the moment.

"Many don't have laptops or tablets and feel very cut off. A lot of the appointments - doctors, hospitals etc - we need have been cancelled.

To mark #CarersWeek2020, The Queen and The Princess Royal spoke to a group of carers who are supported by The @CarersTrust to find out more about the challenges they face. pic.twitter.com/ieMyPWlNeV

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 11, 2020

"The Queen asked questions about how we all coped and called us extraordinary, which was very lovely."

Alexandra, Atkins, a 24-year-old carer from Swansea, had been looking after her mother Helen, who has Bechets syndrome, as well as her father Keith and her grandmother.

Atkins said the Queen "took the call in her stride".

"What was really nice was that, while you could tell she had never done that kind of call for work before, she really took it in her stride.

"She was listening to what we were saying and paraphrasing it back to us. It felt lovely to be so appreciated.

"To have them both talking face to face to us, was just unreal. It hit me that I was sitting in my bedroom talking to the Princess Royal and the Queen."

There are around seven million unpaid care workers in the UK, as many vulnerable citizens are currently sheltering at home.