Kate Garraway celebrates her MBE with her ITV family a

Kate Garraway celebrated her MBE award with her ITV co-stars and her family after she attended the Windsor Castle ceremony with husband Derek Draper. 

Sharing a slew of behind-the-scenes snaps to Instagram on Wednesday, Ranvir Singh 45, joined Kate and their co-stars Ben Shephard, Richard Arnold and Laura Tobin. 

They were joined by Kate’s family and her husband Derek who looked happy and healthier following a gruelling ordeal that saw him become the longest surviving hospital patient with Covid in the UK.

As they smiled for a series of photos, Ranvir wrote: ‘We got there eventually! A beautiful afternoon with the one and only @KateGarraway MBE. 

‘Celebrating her general National Treasure-ness We salute you M’am Garraway! So moving to sit down to a meal with Derek, Billy, Darcy, and your mum and dad – alongside your other family to show you all the love we have in our hearts for you.’

She continued: ‘You gave a wonderful, funny, touching speech where you thanked everyone at the table but didn’t say a word about yourself – typical. 

‘We thank YOU for always enriching our lives with your whirlwind energy, wit, warmth, and intellect. We are here for all of it, for as long as you need us.. and then some x x x x’

Kate looked sensational in a white ensemble while Ranvir opted for a more casual black dress with a denim jacket. 

Earlier in the day, Kate described her joy at being joined by her husband Derek as she was presented with an MBE by Prince William. 

Derek could be seen smiling in a wheelchair as he watched the ceremony in a blue suit and striped tie, while his wife wore a Lisa Redman dress. 

Kate accessorised with a bejewelled collar and a matching headpiece for the investiture ceremony which Garraway described as ‘beautiful’. 

Afterwards, the Good Morning Britain presenter described how she felt to be sharing the day with her husband, saying: ‘I think it’s unbelievable.

‘So many hours, we thought it would never happen, but here we are. It’s fantastic. It’s a real feeling of ”Right, seize the day and enjoy the moment”.’

Kate’s former civil servant father and teacher mother could also be seen with Derek during the ceremony at Buckingham Palace. 

The broadcaster, 56, has kept viewers updated about Derek’s condition since he first went to hospital in March 2020 – and in April this year shared a heartwarming photo showing him finally back at home with their children Darcey, 17, and Billy, 13. 

Derek – who is also a former lobbyist – was left close to death on several occasions since contracting Covid at the start of the pandemic, most likely at the Prince’s Trust Awards also attended by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales.

Kate was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours for services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.

Reacting to the news, she said on Good Morning Britain in January: ‘I actually feel very awkward about it all really, I don’t know why, because I’m thrilled to bits and incredibly honoured.’

She added: ‘But you just sort of think, ‘What? Me?’ And then you think it’s not real.’

Earlier this month Kate revealed Derek was finally able to speak. 

She told Loose Women: ‘It’s very much a whisper. I don’t think we’re necessarily going to have a conversation, but you get fantastic moments.

Billy had a new basketball and was bouncing it, and he said ‘is that new ball?’ He said: ‘It’s nice’…

‘Seeing him able to was amazing. Billy was in tears; they were hugging. It’s things like that that really lift you up, and the next day he was really still.’  

Kate also spoke about returning to the show after her 2021 documentary aired, saying: ‘It’s a strange one really. last time I was on here, just got back from jungle, we were planning on renewing our vows…. 

‘In a matter of weeks, we were in that unfolding drama. It feels like forever ago but it could’ve been just yesterday. in some levels everyone’s lives have changed dramatically, but for me I’m still living the scenes you see in the documentary’. 

Back in April, Derek’s smiling return home from hospital gave fresh hope to his family and friends – three years after his body was first ravaged by Covid-19 and sepsis. 

Derek was taken into hospital on March 30 and remained in an unresponsive condition, later entering a coma. Days later Kate and her children isolated at home after she displayed ‘mild symptoms’. 

Kate revealed at the time she and the now monarch had got ‘relatively close’ at the Prince’s Trust Awards on March 11, 2020. 

Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-March.

She said: ‘Around the 29/30 March, I came home and said [to Derek] ‘god you look ill’.

‘He said he had a headache, numbness in his right hand, and was struggling to breathe,

‘I rang Dr Hilary (Jones) and tried to get through, he talked to Derek. He said put me back on, I think you need to call an ambulance’.

Derek was taken into hospital on March 30 and remained in an unresponsive condition, later entering a coma.

Days later Kate and her children isolated at home after she displayed ‘mild symptoms’.

She said at the time: ‘Derek remains in intensive care and is still very ill. I’m afraid it remains an excruciatingly worrying time.

‘I’m afraid he is still in a deeply critical condition, but he is still here, which means there is hope.’

The following month his health deteriorated further.

Kate said at the time: ‘The journey for me and my family seems to be far from over as every day my heart sinks as I learn new and devastating ways this virus has more battles for Derek to fight.

‘But he is still HERE & so there is still hope.’

That month, Kate and her family took part in the final clap for carers.

She said: ‘I’ll never give up on that because Derek’s the love of my life but at the same time I have absolute uncertainty’.

On June 5, 2020, Kate revealed Derek was free from coronavirus but continued to fight against the damage inflicted on his body. 

A month later she revealed Derek had woken from his coma but he remains in a serious yet critical condition.

Three days later she announced she would be returning to GMB, after being urged by doctors to ‘get on with life’ during Derek’s recovery.

She added that Derek had ‘opened his eyes’ after waking from his coma. 

Kate revealed she’d paid an ‘extra emotional’ first visit to Derek, and admitted saw was ‘frustrated’ by his slow progress. 

And as GMB viewers asked for updates on his condition, she reassured them that Derek was ‘still with us,’ but it was ‘a waiting game.’

Days later, on August 19, Kate revealed she celebrated Derek’s birthday with their two children, and described the day as ‘challenging’ for her family.

At the end of September, Derek became the longest surviving patient with coronavirus after spending 184 days in and out of intensive care, where he lost eight stone.

And in more good news, a month later, Derek spoke for the first time in seven months, saying the word ‘pain’ to his wife, who watched on ‘in tears’ over FaceTime.

For the first time he no longer needed a ventilator to breathe.

On their first Christmas apart, Kate visited him on Christmas Day but the festive period was ‘calamitous’. Their house was flooded and she struggled to get a food delivery slot until her pal Emma Willis stepped in to help.

Kate revealed she and her children got to visit Derek in hospital over the Christmas period, and it was the first time her family had seen him since he was hospitalised.

And 13 months after he went to hospital, Kate said Derek was finally allowed to leave in April 2021, but needed round-the-clock care.

And during an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, Kate revealed that Derek had said ‘I love you’ for the first time.

After celebrating Christmas, Derek was also pictured in a wheelchair during a trip to the pantomime with his family.

In the new year Kate offered a glimpse into the daily struggles of looking after her husband amid his battle with long Covid in the documentary Caring For Derek

She also revealed that Derek would die within three days if he was left alone to care for himself.

On July 6 2022, Kate revealed that Derek had been re-admitted to hospital after suffering a ‘downturn,’ and in a later interview said she takes things ‘day by day.’

On July 20, it was reported that Kate had pulled out of hosting Good Morning Britain to be at Derek’s bedside after he took a ‘very serious’ turn for the worse.

Recalling the traumatic day, the 55-year-old ITV star told The Sun: ‘At one point Derek said to me, ‘This is it, this time. I am gone.’ It was just terrifying.

‘His sepsis was gut-wrenching for all of us because it had gone undiagnosed until the point where it was about to take his life away again.’

In January 2023 Kate Garraway became overwhelmed as she confronted former health secretary Matt Hancock over his handling of the pandemic and his decision to go on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.

Mr Hancock was forced to resign in June 2021 when he was caught flouting his own social distancing guidance by kissing Gina Coladangelo – who he hired with taxpayers’ money.

Describing public anger towards him, Kate added of his decision to appear on I’m a Celebrity: ‘This gives the impression you still don’t get why they are cross. You still don’t get why people are upset. They want to hold you to more account.’ Mr Hancock replied: ‘I get all that. I really do. I really feel it’.

Kate asked him if he understood the anger that people felt towards him, especially those separated by loved ones who were in hospital.

She then became tearful and looked up as she spoke about Derek, who has been unwell for approaching three years.