Prince William Praised for Learning Sign Language in Resurfaced Clip

Prince William has been praised on social media for a resurfaced video that shows he learned sign language to communicate with a deaf recipient of a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) award.

In the clip, which was originally shared by Kensington Palace's Twitter account in January 2020, William was seen greeting Alex Duguid as he presented him with his MBE at Buckingham Palace.

Using British Sign Language (BSL), the Prince of Wales carefully shared his message with Duguid as he said, via his hands, "Congratulations, Alex."

"Thank you," responded Duguid, who for the past three decades has helped broadcasters communicate with deaf audiences. He has also served as a BSL interpreter on the enduring British soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

Investiture ceremonies recognize individuals for their achievements and service to the country, and the video's captioning gave some background on Duguid. Besides his work on the TV shows, he has "spent the past thirty years helping hundreds of people communicate with deaf people."

The almost three-year-old clip was recently reposted on social media by a Twitter user, who called the Prince of Wales "the people's prince."

"When Prince William presented an honor to Alex Duguid MBE for his services to Deaf People and to British Sign Language Education, he learned the SIGN LANGUAGE to congratulate him," the Twitter user said. "Isn't he thoughtful?"

The tweet was met with an outpouring of messages of admiration from scores of other fans, who praised William for the gesture.

"It is these small steps and gestures which make us respect the royal family," tweeted one user, who went on to quote William's late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II: "It's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change."

Another user said: "This is why we, majority of Americans love & respect the [British royal family]. Prince William & Princess Catherine. Also rest of the Working Senior Royals, K. Charles & Queen Camilla."

Another commented that William was "truly just like" his late mother, Princess Diana, writing: "He cares about ppl. He will be a great King one day. He is a wonderful prince."

The investiture ceremony took place one day after William had joined his father, Charles, and the queen to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior working royals.

The couple later moved to Meghan's native California, where they have been living for almost three years with their two children.

In the new Netflix series Harry & Meghan, Harry has described how William began "screaming and shouting" at him during the "terrifying" meeting.

Labeled the "Sandringham Summit" by the press, the meeting was held after Harry and Meghan released a statement during a January visit to Britain, saying they planned to split their time between the U.K. and North America while working to become "financially independent." Their intention was to do this while performing official duties for the queen when called upon to do so.

The announcement created widespread controversy in Britain, with tabloids and commentators criticizing the couple for wanting to "have their cake and eat it too."

The Sandringham meeting, held at the queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, was called to work out an official plan for the Sussexes' future while Meghan returned to Canada, where the couple were staying with their son, Archie.

"It was clear to me that they'd planned it so that you weren't in the room," Harry told Meghan in the docuseries.

The content of the meeting has been widely speculated on, with Harry opening up about it for the first time in detail in the fifth episode of the docuseries.

"I went in with the same proposal that we'd already made publicly, but once I got there I was given five options," he said in the episode. "One being all in, no change. Five being all out. I chose option three in the meeting. Half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the queen. But it became very clear, very quickly, that goal was not up for discussion or debate.

"It was terrifying," he continued. "To have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."

This is the first time that the prince has openly addressed in detail William's anger toward him during this time, which was reported on.

After the meeting concluded without any firm plan, Harry reflected on his resulting relationship with his brother and the tensions the preceding months had caused.

"I mean, the saddest part of it was the wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side," he said. "And part of that I get, I understand. That's his inheritance. So, to some extent, it's already ingrained in him. That part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution."

The brothers were last photographed together in public this September when they participated in events following the queen's death.

Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.

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