Prince William wows royal fans using sign language to congratulate deaf MBE award recipient

Publish Date: Thursday, 16 January 2020, 11:42AM

Amidst all the drama currently surrounding the British royal family, the Duke of Cambridge has gone viral on social media after he used sign language to congratulate a deaf MBE recipient this week.

Stepping in for the Queen yesterday, Prince William hosted an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, which recognises people's amazing achievements and service to the country with special honours.

Among those to receive an honour was TV interpreter Alex Duguid, who has spent the past three decades helping broadcasters communicate with deaf audiences, signing for ITV's Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

In a special touch, the 37-year-old future King signed "congratulations" as he awarded Duguid with his MBE, to which the honouree responded by signing "thank you".

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Today The Duke of Cambridge used British Sign Language to congratulate Alex Duguid MBE, as he presented him with his honour at Buckingham Palace. Alex has been the face of popular British TV shows Emmerdale and Coronation Street for its deaf audience for decades, as a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. He is an example of how profoundly deaf people can have an impact on their community, their peers and their country. He is passionate about BSL and the need to promote and protect it. Alex has spent the past thirty years giving up his time raising hundreds of thousands of pounds towards community projects benefitting South Tyneside’s deaf community, and teaching BSL classes through the organisation Signature, helping hundreds of people communicate with deaf people — visit @signaturedeaf to find out more about their work. Footage 🎥 courtesy of BCA / @bsl_zone / @newcastlechronicle

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jan 14, 2020 at 6:25am PST

Posting a video of the moment to social media, Kensington Palace praised Duguid for his contribution to the deaf community, writing: "He is an example of how profoundly deaf people can have an impact on their community, their peers and their country. He is passionate about BSL and the need to promote and protect it.

"Alex has spent the past thirty years giving up his time raising hundreds of thousands of pounds towards community projects benefitting South Tyneside’s deaf community, and teaching BSL classes through the organisation Signature, helping hundreds of people communicate with deaf people."

And fans were absolutely delighted by the touching video.

One Twitter user said: "This is great to see the Duke took the time to learn to sign something that would mean so much to Alex."

Another comment: "How wonderful of Prince William to take the time to learn sign language. That is how a royal with integrity acts. So incredibly thoughtful."

"So good to see the Duke present in sign language, I'm sure it made it even more special to the gentleman and his family," a third added.

While one user also wrote: "Amazing!!! Congratulations Alex and I loved that William talked to him through sign language."

William's mother, the late Princess of Wales, had previously been a patron of the British Deaf Association (BDA), with the organisation hailing her as an ‘inspiration to the deaf community’.

She learned British sign language in 1983.

It’s lovely to see Prince William following in his late mother’s footsteps.

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