The Reason Kate Middleton Has Been Seen Without Her Engagement Ring

Royal followers went into a frenzy when they realised the Duchess of Cambridge has been seen without her diamond and sapphire engagement ring which once belonged to Diana.

The royals are taking things seriously.

Has your routine changed of late? It likely has somewhat spectacularly, and as it happens, it has for the royal family too.

On Sunday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared photos of themselves working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic to the Kensington Royal Instagram account.

“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,” the caption reads.

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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.

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Mar 28, 2020 at 5:01pm PDT

In the second photo, the Kate can be seen talking on the phone to Catherine Roche, CEO of Place2Be, while dressed in a coral pink Marks & Spencer suit.

But rather than wearing her diamond and sapphire engagement ring, the Duchess was instead wearing only her Welsh gold wedding band instead.

According to People, the decision likely had something to do with the effectiveness of hand-washing amid the spread of COVID-19.

Previous studies have shown that germs can live under rings, making it possible to miss them when washing one's hands.

A 2018 study at Georgia State University found that rings provided “a protected area [on the skin] in which bacteria can flourish,” according to researchers.

They also found that those who didn’t wear rings were able to kill more bacteria when washing their hands than those who wore rings.

The duchess is not the only notable figure to remove jewellery while practising safety measures in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

It was announced last week that Kate's father-in-law Prince Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus.

The 71-year-old spent seven days self-isolating in Scotland after testing positive and displaying mild symptoms.

A Palace official said the prince was in good health and was following the government's restrictions.

"Clarence House has confirmed today that, having consulted with his doctor, the Prince of Wales is now out of self-isolation," a spokesman said.

According to UK government guidelines, anyone with symptoms should self-isolate for seven days, while everyone living in their household should self-isolate for two weeks.

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