Carers Trust wishes Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal a very happy birthday
Carers Trust would like to wish its President, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, a very happy birthday.
Princess Anne, who celebrates her 70th birthday on Saturday, has shown unwavering support for the cause of unpaid family carers since 1991.
Her active support for the millions of unpaid carers across the UK began in 1991 when The Princess Royal Trust for Carers was set up. And from the very start she displayed a deep and intuitive understanding of the interdependence of different generations within families and the need to provide care for family members no longer able to care for themselves.
Far more than just a figurehead, The Princess Royal immediately involved herself directly in the varied aspects of the charity’s work, showing a quiet determination to ensure that the charity’s services were appropriate to the complex needs of family carers.
In 2012 Her Royal Highness became our President following the merger of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers with Crossroads Care. Since then she has visited countless carer centres, meeting thousands of carers in the process. And it has always been clear that her abiding priority has been the carers themselves and deepening her understanding of the pressures and challenges they experience on a daily basis.
As soon as she enters the room, The Princess Royal insists on speaking to all the carers before turning to managers and other professionals. And after meeting the Princess the comment most often made by carers is how impressed they were with how she so obviously wanted to listen to them and make sure that no one was left out of the conversation.
This decades long commitment to the UK’s carers was powerfully illustrated earlier this year during Carers Week. Unable to attend events due to the pandemic and lockdown, The Princess Royal recorded a special video message for all carers, thanking them for their incredible contribution to their families and communities. And later in the week, she took part in a very special video conference call with four carers and Her Majesty The Queen to hear how carers of various ages and from across the UK had been affected by Coronavirus.
Speaking on behalf of the UK’s carers and everyone at Carers Trust, Chair John McLean OBE said:
“Carers Trust is incredibly fortunate to have The Princess Royal as its President. What sets her apart is the fact that she so obviously sees being President of Carers Trust as much more than just another call of duty. Her engagement with carers is utterly genuine, as is her determination to champion their cause.
On behalf of all the carers we work with, our Network Partners, employees and trustees, I’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Her Royal Highness for everything she has done for unpaid carers over the last thirty years, and to send her our very best wishes for a very happy birthday celebration.”
