The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are moved by Kate Garraway's covid nightmare

Prince William and Duchess Catherine have shared a message of support for Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway following her husband's heartbreaking battle with covid-19.

• The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Kate Garraway as they presented a Mirror Pride of Britain Award to NHS frontline heroes
• Prince William and Duchess Catherine both said they'd 'hug' Kate if it wasn't for social distancing rules
• Her husband, Derek Draper, has been in hospital since March with the deadly virus
• It follows royal news that the Duke and Duchess are hiring - here's how you could work for them

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge told Kate Garraway they'd "hug" her if social distancing measures weren't in place, following her husband's devastating battle with coronavirus.

The royals joined TV star Kate at Britain's oldest hospital St Bartholomews in London to present a Pride of Britain Award to NHS frontline workers. And made the sweet admission during their visit.

According to the Mirror, Kate, 53, revealed how the global pandemic had affected her own family and explained that her two children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, have not seen their father since he was hospitalised with the virus in March.

Offering support to the GMB star, Prince William said, "You are doing amazingly though. If it wasn't for social distancing we would both give you a huge."

His wife, Catherine added, "I think you’re amazing to do this as I know you’ve had such a hard time yourself.”

With Derek having been in hospital for seven months – first in an induced coma, now in intensive care – Kate is living “consumed with fear” about what the future holds. And opened up to the Cambridge's about how she's coping with the stress.

She explained, "I think we are all doing OK but it’s very difficult because you can’t visit that often and the children haven’t got to visit Derek. And I think that’s a huge pressure for everyone - mental and physical health.”

Kate recently explained that while Derek is no longer ill with the virus, he may never recover from the damage the disease has done to his body.

"The fight with the virus has been won and he’s still here but it’s wreaked extraordinary damage on his body and we don’t know if he can recover from that,” Kate said, getting teary.

“He’s still with us and has fought the most extraordinary battle.

“The fact that he is still here, I am so grateful.”