HRH The Duchess of Cornwall’s video message for World Osteoporosis Day

To mark World Osteoporosis Day, our President, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, has released a video message of support to help raise awareness of the condition.

Her Royal Highness has been a passionate supporter of the cause since her mother died 26 years ago having suffered so badly with the disease. In the video message, The Duchess expresses her determination to put osteoporosis in the spotlight to highlight the immense burden and suffering caused by the condition and celebrates the major steps forward in its understanding and treatment.

In particular, The Duchess of Cornwall wanted to encourage young people to take their own bone health seriously: “We know it is vital to eat the right food, to take regular and weight-bearing exercise and, so importantly, to educate young people as to how to look after their bone health.”

“We can therefore mark this World Osteoporosis Day with hope and confidence that, together, we will be able to bring an end to this ‘silent’ disease that has brought such misery and pain to millions of people across the globe.”

We are immensely proud to have The Duchess of Cornwall as our President and are sharing the video with all our members and supporters – including the healthcare professionals and researchers working to improve the lives of people living with osteoporosis and ultimately to find a cure.

Our Chief Executive, Craig Jones, said: “We warmly welcome this message of support from Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall. Osteoporosis affects 3.5m in the UK but is much less well understood than other major health conditions. Crucially, the health of your bones can be improved throughout life by a healthy diet, regular exercise and vitamin D.”

The Duchess is hosting a tea at Clarence House for representatives and supporters of the Royal Osteoporosis Society on Tuesday 20 October to mark World Osteoporosis Day.

Her Royal Highness has also presented ROS volunteer Christine Sharp with The Duchess of Cornwall’s Award 2020 for her outstanding support and commitment to the charity. In a phone call to Christine, who lives in Keighley, West Yorkshire, she thanked her for her tireless support for the cause and said that Christine was suffering exactly the condition that had caused her mother and grandmother so much suffering.

ROS supporter Christine Sharp

Christine first became involved with the then National Osteoporosis Society over ten years ago, and during that time has supported hundreds of activities to help raise awareness and raise money for the charity, often by sharing her own experiences of the disease.

Christine said: “I am genuinely speechless for the first time in my life. I am so grateful for the nomination and so very proud. I would like to think this honour can be shared with everyone who helps to raise awareness of osteoporosis as it is vital that we draw attention to this ‘silent disease’.

“I do what I do because I don’t want anyone else to suffer in the same way as I have. It is a horrific condition that is devastating for all those affected and it is a huge cost to the health service. I hope that we can improve the quality of life for everyone.”

This year, we've also teamed up with our partner Vitabiotics Osteocare to create a bone health quiz. This fun and interactive quiz is helping to educate more people and spread the message of how important bone health is - for everyone, at any age.

Learn more about World Osteoporosis Day 2020 and our bone health quiz.