A YOUNG carer from Worcestershire has spoken of the “honour” of meeting Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal.

Mark Marshall, 15, who has looked after his mother for 8 years since his father’s death, came face-to-face with Princess Anne at the YSS Worcestershire Young Carers conference – an event he helped organise alongside a team of other young carers.

He said: “It was an honour to meet Her Royal Highness.

“She was extremely pleasant and really down to earth.

“It’s been such good fun organising the conference and helping to promote the work YSS and the volunteers do for us.”

Princess Anne, who is a patron of YSS, has been a long-standing supporter of the charity’s work supporting young people who regularly care for a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or has an alcohol or drug misuse problem.

She gave a keynote speech at the conference, which took place at Hartlebury-based communications agency drp, and was greeted by cheering, flag-waving pupils from Hartlebury CE Primary School on her arrival.

Lady Susanna McFarlane, chairman of the YSS trustees, said: “The Princess Royal has been our patron since 2008, so for over seven years.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have had five visits from her during that time.

“She has a keen interest in YSS and her attention to detail and in-depth knowledge is paramount to the success we have gained through her support and attendance at our conference today. She helps us to have our voice heard and punch above our weight.

“At every event she has attended, her presence has generated significant publicity in the local media, increased our profile and raised awareness of the issues we are trying to address.

“It opens so many doors to us and the young carers are overjoyed to have had her at this event that they themselves have executed so beautifully.”

Mary Lewis, YSS Worcestershire Young Carers team manager, added: “We are thrilled that Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, agreed to be so closely involved in the day, which provided young carers with the chance to talk to various agencies and professionals and help us investigate how to reach out to help more young carers.”

The conference featured testimonials from a number of young carers, who told personal stories of how they strive through life juggling home responsibilities with school.

It was also attended by professionals who work with young people in the county and aimed to explore how better support can be provided to these inspiring teenagers.

Currently 227 young people are supported by Worcestershire Young Carers but statistics suggest this represents only a minority of the real number of young carers in the county.

More than 3,000 young people in Worcestershire were identified as young carers in the 2011 census.

For more details visit yss.org.uk