Our Patron

Lady Frederick Windsor 

We are delighted to have Lady Sophie Windsor as our Patron. She is our leading ambassador and figurehead, and a passionate supporter of Britain’s elderly population. Her official statement is as follows:

“I was thrilled to be asked to be patron of Age UK Kensington and Chelsea in September. It is a cause very close to my heart. It saddens me that Britain is no longer a country which has fun with, respects and takes care of its older generations. Some of these people fought in wars for us and most of them fought and forged the way for the extensive rights and freedoms we enjoy today. Not only do we owe the generations who created our present with our presence, we owe it to ourselves to reap the rewards of their wisdom and perspective.

It would be a richer society all round if the generations mixed, learned and supported each other rather than remaining in separate camps, ignorant of what the other has to offer. I do not believe we can call ourselves a civilised society when we busy ourselves to the point of wholly ignoring and neglecting our elderly. Who among us cannot spare half an hour a week to visit a local older person in desperate need of a chat and a cup of tea?

This highly isolated and tech-dependent world where even the supermarket checkout is a machine and not a human being can be brutally lonely and bewildering for an older person accustomed to and yearning for human contact.

But it is not just the older generation who are lonely. Reports show that all of us are suffering all-time high levels of anxiety and isolation. So the integration of generations would not just be a charitable gesture but would be mutually beneficial to all.

Let’s stop being a selfish and unhappy society and start giving as well as taking –they end up being the same thing.”