Kate Garraway has revealed that the Prince of Wales asked about her husband Derek Draper’s health while awarding her MBE at Windsor Castle on Wednesday (28 June).
The Good Morning Britain (GMB) presenter received the award after being recognised in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.
Garaway, 53, also revealed that Draper “burst into tears” as she was awarded the honour by Prince William, who turned to wave at him as the former political advisor watched from his wheelchair.
GMB shared a clip of the investiture ceremony that showed Draper, who is still struggling with long Covid, smiling from ear to ear as his wife received her MBE.
Garraway’s co-host Ben Shephard pointed out Draper, who was with her parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway as well as his carer to witness the ceremony, and said: “Ah, look at them all in the back shot.”
Garraway said: “Ah, I know, Derek burst into tears. The Prince of Wales said, ‘How’s Derek?’ and I said, ‘He’s here’.
“[William] said he wants to go over [to Draper] but he’s not allowed to leave the rug, there’s a very fancy gold carpet that he stands on.
“So we turned and saw and then obviously Derek was very tearful and then spoke about Jake [Draper’s carer] and gave Jake a wave as well,” she continued.
Kate Garraway, from London, is watched by her husband Derek Draper as she is made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castl— (PA)
The presenter explained how the investiture ceremony played out and said: “You get presented by the lovely Prince of Wales and then you go outside, they take it off you and put it in a box.
“And I said, ‘Oh, am I not allowed to wear this?’ and they said, ‘Well, there is a card inside which tells you the specific occasions you are supposed to wear it’, which I have lost! I lost it already.”
Garraway, who is Draper’s full-time carer alongside healthcare professionals, added: “It was lovely at the castle, there were so many people who wanted to shake Derek’s hand and say, ‘My father, my husband, my brother… What you’ve gone through has given us a lot of hope’.
Kate Garraway after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity— (Getty Images)
“Because they are dealing with things from Covid but also other things like cancer which are difficult. So I think he got a huge amount from it as well, which was very, very lovely.”
Draper contracted Covid in 2020 and spent more than a year in hospital, partly in an induced coma. He still requires round-the-clock care at home and is in and out of hospital for treatments.
Just 48 hours before the investiture ceremony, Garraway revealed that Draper had been in hospital. She added: “It has been a tough 10 days for him. He was determined to be there.”
Earlier this year, she revealed the high cost of dealing with Draper’s long Covid and said that her family has not had any “special treatment” from the NHS.
“As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, the costs go through the roof in so many ways,” she told The Sun. “You have to make changes to your home and it affects your ability to work.”
Garraway made two documentaries about her family’s battle with Draper’s illness. Both programmes won National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
