Royals have been housing Ukrainian refugees and made cash donations to help the humanitarian effort, but have wanted to do it without any publicity, said a source.
The Russian invasion has led to millions of Ukrainians fleeing their country and some are being hosted by families in the UK.
Discreetly, a number of royals vowed to “do their bit” and reached out after becoming deeply moved by the plight of the Ukrainian people, reported the Daily Express.
They are now providing accommodation to a number of families forced to flee their homeland.
Sources said members of the Royal Family have helped house refugees, but the outlet was told that there is a “firm wish” for no publicity with royals wanting to keep their contribution private.
Members of the Royal Family have also made extensive cash donations and publicly supported charity appeals.
They joined politicians, business leaders and thousands of others offering to house some of the six million Ukrainians who have fled Russian invaders in the most serious conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
Almost 54,000 have arrived in the UK under Government schemes.
Royals are working on projects behind the scenes but Buckingham Palace, which had said the Royal Household was looking at practical help, declined to elaborate, it is reported.
A spokesman said: “We are assisting in a number of ways.”
The help comes after donations by the Queen, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the Ukraine Appeal run by the Disasters Emergency Committee.
This coalition of 15 UK charities has raised more than £300million.
The Queen has made plain her support for Ukraine in more subtle ways too, wearing the country’s yellow and blue plus ordering flower arrangements in the colours at Windsor Castle.
A senior royal source told the Express: “These things don’t tend to happen by accident.”
Less inhibited than the monarch, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate have all spoken out against Russian aggression and pledged support to Ukraine’s struggle at meetings with Ukrainians.
The Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent returned his Russian honour, the Order of Friendship, in protest.
Charles and Camilla this week met Ukrainian refugees in Ottawa, where she told one family who had left their father behind to fight: “We are so behind you. We do worry about you so much.”
The Very Reverend Volodymyr Kouchnir, Dean of the St Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Montreal, praised the Royal Family for their support and told Charles and Camilla: “We are sincerely grateful to the Royal Family, to Her Majesty and to you personally.”
On a March visit to London’s Ukrainian Cultural Centre, Prince William said: “For our generation, it’s very alien to see this in Europe. We’re all right behind you. We’re thinking about you.”
He praised the people of Ukraine for their spirit and told volunteers sending aid: “We have seen a lot of that Ukrainian spirit already.”
William and Kate also offered to use their Royal Foundation to provide support for Ukrainians with mental health problems after witnessing the war.
They said: “In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelensky and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism. We stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future.”
In their support for refugees and the war effort, the Queen and her family are echoing the Windsors’ approach during the Second World War.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman has noted in his latest biography of the monarch, Queen of Our Times, that young evacuees from London’s East End were put up in houses on the royal estate at Windsor and some children were invited to tea and dancing lessons with the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.
In addition, Buckingham Palace became a royal refugee camp. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands fled the Nazis and was evacuated by ship to Harwich. “I met her at Liverpool Street Station and brought her here (Buckingham Palace),” King George VI wrote. “She was naturally very upset and had brought no clothes with her.”
The Queen has control over a large number of properties at Windsor and on her private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral. Sandringham alone has more than 300 residential and commercial properties, many of which are rented out.
The Mirror has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
