Royal Family ‘offered Kate Garraway’s husband Derek the use of their Royal physician’
Derek has returned home after being hospitalised for a year following severe Covid-19 infection
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Your support makes all the difference.Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper has been suffering the after-effects of severe Covid-19 infection and the broadcaster says that the Royal Family offered up the use of their Royal physician in his recovery.
Derek contracted the virus in March 2020 and remained in hospital until earlier this month when he was well enough to continue his recovery at home.
The Good Morning Britain presenter has said that the Royal Family contacted her by letter and offered the use of their physician to assist Derek.
According to extracts serialised by the Mail on Sunday, a quote from Kate’s memoir, The Power of Hope, revealed that the presenter was grateful, but that it all felt “utterly surreal”.
She wrote: “One day I received a letter from a member of the Royal Family, offering the services of a Royal physician. How lovely, I thought, although it seemed utterly surreal.”
She kept the identity of the royal anonymous and said she had received messages from “hundreds of thousands of people’” who wished her well. Others shared their personal stories of loss and how they coped with it.
Derek is believed to have been one of the worst-affected coronavirus patients to have survived. He remained in a coma for months and now requires round the clock care at home.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain last week, Kate told fellow presenters Susanna Reid and Adil Ray that there are “lots of little positives” with Derek home.
She said: “It’s been wonderful having Derek at home, and lots of little positives, I think.
“Whether those are positives because it is genuinely helping his cognition being at home, or whether it’s just because I’m there to see the little things.”
Kate continued: “I don’t know but it feels positive. Little moments of reaction. He actually said something the other day, I walked in in the morning just before I left to go to Smooth.
“I said, “I’m off to Smooth now”, and he said, “New dress?” which was just amazing. And it was actually!”
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
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