Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to give UK carers “equal worth” to that given to politicians at a Windsor Castle reception hosted by the King and Queen.
Sir Keir joined Charles and Camilla at the royal Berkshire residence on Wednesday night to meet hundreds of guests, including paid and unpaid carers as well as charity representatives.
The event marked the first time Sir Keir and the King have been seen together since the recent dump of millions of documents associated with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein by US authorities.
Speaking on Wednesday night as he met guests in St George’s Hall, Sir Keir said: “I really wanted to come and say thank you, and also because I know first-hand that what carers do is incredible – it is skilled.”
The PM mentioned his sister, who works in the sector, saying: “I’ve seen my sister at work – she works with adults with Down syndrome – and I couldn’t do what she does.
“One of my missions, in a sense, is to give equal worth to those like carers who do jobs that I couldn’t do as we give to politicians and those in positions of power.”
TV personality and writer Coleen Rooney also attended the reception.
She briefly spoke to Charles and Camilla about her sister Rosie, who died in 2013 at the age of 14 following a lifelong battle with Rett syndrome, a rare neurological genetic disorder.
The wife of ex-footballer Wayne Rooney, who was raised in a family that fostered children, said parents caring for a dependant child work “24/7”.
“It’s something that isn’t talked about enough and isn’t celebrated enough because, no matter what, it’s not a job: it’s because you care,” she said.
“I’ve seen it first-hand, obviously, through my sister.
“It should be my mum who’s here today, really, and my dad, because they’d go days and days without sleep.”
Broadcaster and TV presenter Kate Garraway was also present, and spoke of her experience caring for her husband, the former lobbyist and political adviser Derek Draper.
“We’re all going to either need care or be a carer, there is no way around it, it happens to everybody,” she said.
“It’s very, very isolating – you know you’re doing the right thing, you know you’re doing a good thing but it doesn’t feel very recognised because it’s just you and the four walls.”
Garraway’s husband died at the age of 56 in January 2024 after suffering long-lasting symptoms from coronavirus.
“I was the primary 24-hour-a-day carer but after about eight months when Derek started to come out of a coma, I had to go back to work because we had no income,” she said.
“People every day give up their jobs to care and find themselves in a very changed financial position.
“That challenges how people and families survive.”
Sir Ed Davey, whose 18-year-old son John has severe disabilities and is being helped at home by two carers, also attended the event.
“Family carers are amongst the most special people in our country and our world,” he said.
“Without them, our society probably would collapse – and people don’t realise that.”
He said “we should value them far more than we do”, adding the reception was “a powerful signal”.
In a printed message addressed to his guests, Charles praised the millions of carers looking after a loved one across the country, as well as the estimated 1.6 million people employed in the adult social care sector.
“My wife and I are delighted to welcome you here this evening as we celebrate and give thanks to those remarkable individuals who dedicate their lives to the care of others,” the King’s message read.
“Across the United Kingdom today, there are some five million people providing unpaid care to a loved one,” he added.
“That is one in every 10 adults who, alongside the demands of their own lives, have taken upon their shoulders the sacred and selfless responsibility of caring for another human being.
“Alongside these wonderfully altruistic individuals stand the estimated 1.6 million professionals who work in social care – the nurses, care workers, support staff and countless others who have chosen to make compassion their vocation.
“Together, these two great pillars of care – and those charities and organisations which support them – form the foundation upon which so many families and society itself depends.”
There are 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK, with 29% providing more than 50 hours of care each week and women making up 59% of the unpaid carer population, according to the 2021 Census.
Both Charles and Sir Keir have been dealing with the fallout from the Epstein scandal, with the King expressing “profound concern” on Monday at allegations that his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with sex offender Epstein.
Thames Valley Police previously confirmed it is assessing the claims.
The crisis also led to two departures from Downing Street, a call from the Scottish Labour leader for Sir Keir to resign, and reignited the scandal surrounding Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK ambassador to the US despite his relationship with Epstein.
