Duke and Duchess of Cambridge awarded a Gold Blue Peter Badge

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have followed in the footsteps of his grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, by being awarded a coveted Gold Blue Peter badge it was announced today. 

The Gold Blue Peter badge is the programme’s highest award, only a handful of which are presented each year to individuals who show great expertise in their chosen field, are considered to be role models, and who inspire children across many generations.

Their Royal Highnesses received their Gold Badges at the Blue Peter studios, in Salford, MediaCityUK, for their campaign work around mental health and in particular mental health issues affecting children. Viewers can see them being presented with their badges in Thursday’s live Blue Peter Christmas special (December 14, 5.30pm on CBBC).

The Duke and Duchess visited the studios last week before they attended the BBC-curated Children’s Global Media Summit, in Manchester, where The Duke of Cambridge delivered a keynote speech on the importance of childhood and the impact of emerging technology.

They were introduced to members of the Blue Peter team and heard how the very popular Blue Peter website gives young people a safe space for children online with its Fan Club. They also learned about the hundreds of thousands of letters the programme receives each year and met local children who had achieved their own Blue Peter badges.

Her Majesty the Queen was awarded a Gold Blue Peter Badge during her Golden Jubilee year in 2002 and her grandson and his wife were delighted to have joined this select group, which also includes Sir David Attenborough, JK Rowling, Steven Spielberg, Mary Berry and David Beckham.

Receiving his badge, His Royal Highness said: “That’s very touching thank you very, very much. We’ve still got a long way to go yet but we are getting there. A shift is happening and we will hopefully crack a problem that should have been cracked a long time ago.” He then joked that he would now be able to compare Gold Blue Peter badges with his grandmother.

Blue Peter Editor, Ewan Vinnicombe, says: “It was a real honour to welcome The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the Blue Peter studios in our 60th year. It was lovely to show them how much we value our audience getting involved with the show through letters, Fan Club comments on the website and the fantastic art work they send to us every week. His Royal Highness was particularly impressed with a drawing of his grandmother wearing a tiara that one of the children had sent in.”

In October this year Blue Peter launched its milestone 60th year with a Gold Badge Walk - a path to honour some of the well-known names who have received the special accolade. The walk has been built at MediaCityUK, in Salford, joining the famous Blue Peter Garden to the CBBC studios. The path celebrates some of the most successful people in sport, literature, music and other industries to receive the prestigious honour.

The show will celebrate its 60th anniversary in October 2018 and has a host of special events taking place across the next 10 months to honour the occasion. A special edition of Blue Peter on Thursday 1 February 2018 will mark the show’s 5000th episode. February will also see the launch of a new Diamond Badge which viewers can be awarded within the special 60th year.

December 12, 2017 6:10am ET by Pressparty  

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