Just several hours after welcoming their baby Max into the world, a couple in Britain received a surprise video call from an unexpected royal well-wisher.

The Duchess of Cambridge dialled into the Kingston Hospital room of Rebecca Attwood to congratulate the new mum and chatted with her and her partner John Gill over their newborn Max.

“Hello! Very nice to meet you,” Kate said. “This is definitely a first, I think. Huge congratulations.”

The newborn baby arrived at 10 pm the night before and was sleeping in the crib next to the couple.

“My goodness, you must be exhausted,” Kate smiled.

The new parents were thrilled that Duchess Kate checked in on them.

“Having a surprise conversation with the Duchess of Cambridge after two hours' sleep was particularly surreal,” Ms Atwood told The Mail.

“The Duchess asked us about having a baby at such an unusual time, and our experience on the maternity ward was that all the midwives made it as normal as possible – apart from the masks.”

The Duchess also asked how staff are doing in light of COVID-19 and heard about an increase in the rates of anxiety among new mums.

“There are women that have no mental health history that are becoming incredibly anxious because of the situation currently,” a midwife told the Duchess.