• Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra chatting with residents and staff over a game of Qwirkle
Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra visited the disabled veterans living at The Royal Star & Garter Homes, Surbiton, to mark the Charity’s 102nd anniversary. The Princess was received by the Charity’s Chairman, Major General Tim Tyler, Chief Executive, Andy Cole, Director of Care, Pauline Shaw, and Surbiton Home Manager, Barbara Carter.
Her Royal Highness was welcomed by Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) veteran Phyllis and presented with a beautiful yellow posy. Phyllis commented, “The Princess was absolutely delightful. She asked about my time in the WAAF and we chatted for a long time about all sorts of things. I will always remember today with great fondness and happiness.”
Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra receiving a posy from WAAF veteran Phyllis
After signing the visitors’ book, Her Royal Highness was introduced to residents, staff and volunteers who make up the Star & Garter Singers choir. The Princess spent time listening to the choir, who in tribute to the typical British weather, sung a spirited rendition of Singing in the Rain. The Princess then moved into the café bar and chatted with more residents including Betty and Pat, who were delighted to meet her. Her Royal Highness was then given a tour of the dementia care house, where she watched residents participating in a lively exercise class to music.
The Princess has a long-standing relationship with The Royal Star & Garter Homes, after becoming the Charity’s president in July 1964. Since then
Her Royal Highness has visited the Homes on many occasions, always devoting much of her time to conversing with residents.
The Charity’s Chairman, Major General Tim Tyler, commented, “Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra’s visits are always an absolute pleasure and most welcomed by residents who greatly enjoy her company. This is a significant year for our nation, as we commemorate the end of the First World war. At this poignant time, it is a privilege to share the Charity’s Founders’ Day with our President and we look forward to welcoming the Princess back to our Homes in the near future.”
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For further information please contact:
Diane Fisher, Press Officer, e: diane.fisher@starandgarter.org, t: 0208 481 7669
Cally Madden, Marketing & Communications Manager, e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org, t: 020 8481 7692
Michelle Danks, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, e: michelle.danks@starandgarter.org, t: 020 8481 7691
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2018.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
The Charity celebrated its centenary in 2016: providing specialist care for disabled veterans since 1916.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
