Following in Diana's footsteps: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit cancer-stricken children at Royal Marsden hospital

    By MAYSA RAWI and REBECCA ENGLISH

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet with patient Digby Davidson today as part of their tour of the Oak Centre, a new £18m cancer unit at the Royal Marsden hospital in Sutton

    He hadn’t slept after a frantic night of emergency rescues in his RAF helicopter.
    But no amount of drama in the air was going to stop Prince William making one important stop on solid ground yesterday.

    Almost 30 years after Princess Diana toured the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey on her first solo engagement in 1982, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited to meet young cancer sufferers.


    William, president of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, poses with patient Ellis Andrews at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in South London, while Kate, right, chats to patient Fabian Bate


    Kate is spending her time trying to get to know various charities and good causes so she can decide what her future role will be. She is pictured chatting animatedly to 18-year-old Beth Ansell

    And they chatted animatedly to the patients in the hospital’s new £18million Oak Centre for Children and Young People, sharing a joke with leukaemia sufferer Digby Davidson after making themselves comfortable on his bed.

    The 14-year-old, who thought he had beaten his cancer but has spent much of the past three months in hospital after a relapse, said: ‘They were really laid-back.’

    The Duke also rolled up his sleeves as he met seven-year-old Ellis Andrews, who is waiting for a bone marrow transplant, while the Duchess chatted to Fabian Bate, nine, who was in the middle of four hours of chemotherapy to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia for the second time.


    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted by a huge cheer and fans carrying Union Jacks


    The Duchess wore an Amanda Wakeley dress with L.K. Bennett court shoes


    Kate is a natural with the crowds, obviously becoming more comfortable with the attention


    Welcome wagon: Kate greets some if her younger fans


    Children and hospital staff wait for the couple to arrive carrying a welcome banner


    Prince William, greeting hospital staff, was also invited to unveil a plaque to officially open the centre


    The sleep-deprived Duke flew a mercy mission to take a sailor to see a seriously-ill relative just hours before today's even, left, while Kate looked as glossy as usual


    Kate received a bouquet of flowers from Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed Prince William two years ago


    First solo trip: Diana visited the Royal Marsden in 1982


    The Royal Marsden is a cancer centre specialising in diagnosis, treatment, research and education


    ate & William Royal Marsden Hospital




    source: dailymail
    Source URL: http://lovespurtz.blogspot.com/2011/09/following-in-diana-footsteps-duke-and.html
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