Swansea carer in royal-first as Queen joins video conference call
A carer from Swansea has been part of a royal-first after the Queen held her first ever video conference call.
She praised carers for their "extraordinary" work as she joined her daughter the Princess Royal to speak to four carers and Gareth Howells, the chief executive of the Carers Trust, after logging in online from the Oak Room at Windsor Castle.
It was a first for the 94-year-old's long reign and the monarch was last to join the call and first to leave - a formal etiquette of royal engagements that Buckingham Palace decided to preserve.
The Queen heard about the isolation and difficulties carers are facing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Among them was Alexandra Atkins, 24, from Swansea, who has been a carer for 16 years, and looks after for her mother Helen who has Bechets Syndrome, as well as her father Keith and her grandmother.
Miss Atkins said: "The Queen actually took it in her stride as well.
"What was really nice was that, while you could tell she had never done that kind of call for work before, she really took it in her stride."
She added: "To have them both talking face to face to us, was just unreal.
"It hit me that I was sitting in my bedroom talking to the Princess Royal and the Queen."
The call on June 4 was to mark Carers Week.
Anne is president of the Carers Trust, which provides support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems.
There are approximately seven million unpaid carers in the UK, and with vulnerable members of society currently shielding at home, many carers have taken on new responsibilities.