King Charles made a private journey to Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham on December 5 to personally confer a damehood upon Dame Sarah Anderson, founder of suicide prevention charity The Listening Place, just 48 hours before she died.
Details of the monarch’s touching gesture emerged on Tuesday when Sir Jeremy Hunt received his knighthood at Windsor Castle.
The former chancellor disclosed that his friend Dame Sarah had died on Sunday, making the King’s bedside visit to honour her one of his final acts of recognition before her death.
Sir Jeremy described the monarch’s decision to travel to the south London hospice as “an incredible thing to do”.
King Charles made secret trip to honour charity chief as Dame two days before her death
|
GETTY / THE LISTENING PLACE
Speaking after his investiture ceremony, Sir Jeremy expressed gratitude to the monarch for making the special trip to see Dame Sarah in her final days.
“We’re so lucky with our King; we had a very nice chat,” he said.
“I thanked him because he visited the hospice last week and gave a damehood to a friend of mine, which was an incredible thing to do because she sadly passed away on Sunday.”
The Conservative MP added: “So, he made a special journey to see her, and I think my friend was incredibly moved by that.”
Sir Jeremy also revealed that during their conversation, the King had enquired about his current activities.
“I said I was writing a book on how to make Britain great again, and he said, ‘Well, keep trying’, with a twinkle in his eye,” he recounted.
The former foreign secretary, health secretary and culture secretary said he felt “a bit overwhelmed and very humbled” by the recognition.
“It’s a lovely moment. Politics is a lot of rough and tumble, but I feel incredibly honoured to be recognised in this way, so it’s a happy day,” he remarked.
King Charles made Penny Mourdant a Dame today
|
PA
Sir Jeremy emphasised the occasion’s importance for his wife and children, noting that political careers can be particularly demanding on families.
Dame Penny Mordaunt, who served in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet alongside Sir Jeremy, also received her damehood at Tuesday’s ceremony.
The former Commons leader, 52, remarked that the King appeared in “very good form” despite his recent duties hosting the German president and his wife for last week’s state visit.
“It’s always lovely to see him and a real treat seeing him today. It’s great to see him in such great spirits,” she said.
Dame Penny, a Navy reservist, reflected on her prominent role carrying the Sword of State at the 2023 coronation, describing it as “a great honour” that helped unite the nation.