The Duchess of Cambridge has been talking to 85-year-old Len Gardner, who is a full-time carer for his wife and was delighted to have her company during the months of isolation. According to the Sun, the Duchess has been taking part in the Royal Voluntary Service in order to fight loneliness.
Prince William’s wife first contacted Mr Gardner during the first lockdown and asked him to “call me Catherine”.
The Yorkshire man told the Sun about his reaction to receiving the Duchess’ first phone call on May 13.
He said: “Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be talking on the phone to the future Queen of England.
“I will treasure our conversations for the rest of my life.
“Those calls helped me because they gave me something to look forward to.”
Mr Gardner recalled the first moments after picking up the phone.
He said: “I was flabbergasted when I found out who would be calling.
“The first question I asked was, ‘How do I address you?’ She said, ‘Call me Catherine’.
“After the first two sentences I didn’t feel like I was talking to someone so important.”
He added: “For 30 minutes, Len and Catherine had a wonderful conversation.
“She told me Prince George and Princess Charlotte were playing in the garden and she was keeping an eye on them through the window.”
Mr Gardner, who has been fighting bladder cancer, had a conversation with the Duchess about his love of Italian food and some days later he received a special surprise.
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He said: “I said I don’t, because I haven’t got a pasta machine and in any case, you have to use a special flour. About three days after our conversation, a brand new pasta machine arrived from the Duchess.
“Two days later I got two kilos of ‘00’ (the Italian grading system) flour from Buckingham Palace. I can tell you, this lady you see on television that goes into the crowds and talks to people — what you see is what you get. She is a very, very nice person.”
Mr Gardner sent the Duchess a letter thanking her for the gifts, as well as some articles he had written for a local magazine and a photo of himself and his wife.
The Duchess sent him a letter alongside Prince William, which is now on display on Mr Gardners “Royal Wall” in his living room.
