A PETERSFIELD student has met the Princess Royal in recognition of his life as a young carer.
Sam Manners has cared for his mother and brother since primary school, and is now juggling that care with studying A level maths, physics and computer science at Havant and South Downs College.
Sam is a regular at The King’s Arms in the Festival Hall car park in Petersfield, and it was through the youth centre that he came to meet Princess Anne.
He, and two other local young carers, were invited by The Children’s Group to a training day in London, aimed at helping them manage their household money.
Sam said: “It’s important as a young carer you know how to handle finances.
“The Children’s Group came in to see our presentations and we were one of the few groups to do it successfully.”
Because of their impressive presentations, Sam and two others were invited to go to a young carers conference attended by Princess Anne.
Sam said: “Meeting her was interesting – at first it was a bit daunting because we were given these sheets with all these protocols about how to speak to her.
“But when she came to meet us she was so natural, it was a very down to earth conversation, and she asked about things I have had to deal with and the difficulties of being a young carer.
“Balancing the work-home life is hard, and knowing how to rest.
“Sometimes you become so tired it’s easy getting into a cycle of not being able to perform at your best and not being able to rest.
“My advice for other young carers would be that you always need to give yourself a wellbeing space to look after yourself.”