The royal spotlight during Carers Week might have been on The Queen and Princess Anne’s special video call, but Princess Alexandra also joined in to show her support for carers this month.
The Princess took part in a series of phone calls with some of her patronages, including Friends of the Elderly, St Christopher’s Hospice, and Care for Veterans, to hear how they are supporting carers and patients during the coronavirus crisis.
On a call with St Christopher’s Hospice, she spoke with CEO Heather Richardson about the challenges they’ve been facing during the pandemic. Princess Alexandra has served as patron of the hospice, which provides support to 6,500 people across London each year, since 1981.
“It was heart-warming today to receive a telephone call from our Patron, HRH Princess Alexandra, @theroyalfamily, to mark national #carersweek,” the hospice posted on Instagram.
“The Princess spoke with Heather Richardson, our Joint Chief Executive, to find out more about how we support carers at St Christopher’s. We are proud to support the pledge to Make Caring Visible; recognising the vital contribution carers make to their families and local communities, workplaces and society, and calling for carers to get the support they need.”
Princess Alexandra last paid a visit to the hospice in February when she spoke with Leon Silver, who served as a carer for his wife, Maria, who received outpatient treatment from the hospice for two years.
She also spoke with Friends of the Elderly’s Chairman Kerry Rubie and CEO Steve Allen, who told Princess Alexandra “how carers have been keeping residents busy during lockdown with activities including a visit from donkeys at Alton care home and learning to grow tomatoes at Woking care home.”
One of the other charities she spoke with was Care for Veterans, which the Princess has been patron of since 2003. She spoke with CEO Andrew Neaves to discuss the ways they have continued to provide nursing care, rehabilitation and respite care to Ex-Services personnel and their families.
Carers Week, which is being held from 8-14 June in the UK this year, celebrates the often unsung work of those caring for disabled, seriously ill, or elderly relatives. The Carers Week website states that an estimate 4.5 million Brits became unpaid carers in a matter of weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
