HRH Princess Alexandra at St. James's Palace

Mind celebrates the 40 years of Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Alexandra at St. James's Palace

Princess Alexandra has been our royal patron since 1969. On Wednesday 24 February 2010 Mind hosted a reception at the spectacular St. James's Palace to celebrate HRH Pricess Alexandra's 40th anniversary as patron.

Since 1969, Pricess Alexandra has been a keen supporter of Mind, attending awareness raising events and personally thanking supporters and volunteers who devote so much of their time and energy to our work.

The aim of the evening was to recognise Princess Alexandra's generous support of our work and comittment to mental health.

It was also an opportunity to acknowledge many other inspirational people who have played a role in our past, and share our successes with those that made them happen. People like shop volunteers, those who have raised extraordinary amounts of money by taking part in events, and supporters who have pledged money to Mind in their will. Their generosity helps over a quarter of a million people each year.

Guests at the event also included the boys from Blake, actress Helen McCrory and previous Mind Champion of the Year winner Dr. Liz Miller.

Mind's former President, Lord Melvyn Bragg, also attended and gave an inspiring speech about his own personal journey and reflected on our work in tackling the stigma that still surrounds mental health.

Our Trustee, Alison Cowan, spoke openly about her own experiences of mental health problems including how our information services have helped her rebuild her life. And finally, Mind Chief Executive, Paul Farmer, explained the importance of our work and introduced the This is the Mind film which shows the difference we make in people's lives every day.

The evening was a wonderful success and a fantastic opportunity to thank everyone especially HRH Pricess Alexandra for all the support they continue to give us.