Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, have praised the work of volunteers from the Royal Voluntary Service in a heartwarming video call.

The call marks the first time the Queen has appeared since reuniting with her husband, Prince Philip, who was discharged from the hospital after a one-month stay.

The call comes at a time when the Royal Family is dealing with negative news from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The Royal Voluntary Service has been at the forefront of mobilising volunteers since the outbreak of Covid-19, recruiting almost one million people since last year.

Alongside Good Sam, it was commissioned by NHS England to deliver the Health Services Volunteer Responders Scheme to support those in need, with more than 1.6 million tasks completed to date.

These include check-in and chat calls, delivering prescriptions and food shopping for those unable to leave their homes.

The scheme has also recently been extended to support the vaccination rollout.

During the video call, the Queen hailed the wonderful work of the army of volunteers who stepped forward during the pandemic and told them they have been a great help over this difficult year.

The monarch, who has been patron of the Royal Voluntary Service for almost 70 years, appeared thrilled to see her daughter-in-law, starting the call with a cheery, “ah, good morning, hello Camilla.”

The Duchess replied warmly, “good morning, how are you?”

The two women appeared to match their outfits, both wearing blue, which may have been a nod to the NHS.

Praising the work of the 12.7 million people in the country who have stepped forward to volunteer since last March, the Queen said, “Thank you very much indeed.

Very interesting to hear what you have been doing.

I think it's wonderful work and I do thank everybody for, and all the others too, who have been volunteering.

It's been a great, great help over this very difficult year.”

Camilla added, “Thank you all very much for all you've done throughout the year, throughout the pandemic.

We couldn't have done this without you.”

The Royals were hosted on the call by Royal Voluntary Service Chief Executive Catherine Johnston, CBE, who shared her pride at how Britain has stepped forward to volunteer during these unprecedented times.

She then presented four volunteers with the Royal Voluntary Service.

Her Majesty and Her Royal Highness were introduced to ex-police officer Tracy Clark from Gateshead, who volunteers with the Royal Voluntary Service's Gateshead Home Library Service for the past year, while Sue Cadwalander from Northumberland told the Royal guests how she got into volunteering through her son, Sam, who already lent his time to their local Royal Voluntary Service centre.

NHS volunteer responder Anderson Akponieware from Middlesbrough explained how he juggles supporting his community while studying for his PhD and homeschooling.

At the end of the call, Simon Holmes, an NHS volunteer responder from Stockton-on-Tees, shared how accessing mental health services himself had encouraged him to sign up to the Royal Voluntary Service.

“It was obviously last year when the pandemic hit, when I saw the reach out for volunteers, I decided I wanted to do something, if I could give back in just a little way,” he said.

“The whole experience is very humbling.”

The Queen and Camilla heard from numerous volunteers about their experiences and then paid tribute to everyone across the UK who has given up their time to support their communities.

The Royal Family continues to deal with negative news from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired last week.

However, the Queen appeared again in good spirits during the video call, expressing her gratitude and appreciation for the volunteers' efforts.

The Royal Voluntary Service has been instrumental in mobilising volunteers to support those in need during the pandemic, and the Queen's long-standing patronage of the organisation highlights the importance of community service.