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

By Maysa Rawi


The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Royal Marsden to open a new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, Surrey today


It was the hospital Princess Diana chose for her first solo charity trip.

So it is rather fitting that the Duchess of Cambridge should follow suit for her second official engagement since the Royal Wedding with husband Prince William today.

Kate was all smiles in an elegant in cream Amanda Wakeley dress and her favourite L.K. Bennett nude heels at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in South London.

A sleep-deprived William, who flew a mercy mission just hours before opening the new £18 million children's cancer unit, looked slightly less sprightly in a navy suit.


William and Kate, both 29, are touring the Oak Centre for Children and Young People which has been built to treat day and inpatients, where they will meet medical staff, young patients and their parents.

During the visit, William will be reunited with Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed him two years ago for the CBBC Newsround programme.

The 12-year-old, who is due to fly to America to receive radiotherapy for a brain tumour, presented Kate with a bouquet of flowers when she arrived at the hospital.

The Duchess is spending her time trying to get to know various charities and good causes so she can decide what her future role will be

Children and hospital staff wait for the couple to arrive

A St James's Palace spokesman told the London Evening Standard: 'The Duke is looking forward to seeing Alice again and finding out how she has been.

'Through his close connection with the hospital he has met many inspirational young people, like Alice, who have shown such bravery in battling their illness.

'Tomorrow, he is keen to show the Duchess the incredible work the Royal Marsden does to help Alice and others like her.'

The sleep-deprived Duke flew a mercy mission to take a sailor to see a seriously-ill relative just hours before today's event

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

William is president of the Royal Marsden - the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of the disease.

He took over from his mother, who took on the role in 1989 until her death in 1997.

William went without sleep last night as he ferried the serviceman from a warship off the Isle of Man to Sandhurst in Surrey.

The royal flew back to his base at RAF Valley on Anglesey just after 9am before making the trip to open the Royal Marsden's new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, south London, a few miles from Sandhurst.

The duke, an RAF search and rescue force helicopter co-pilot, carried out the 'compassionate call-out' during a normal 24-hour shift which also saw him help pick up a casualty with serious head injuries in Snowdonia.

A St James's Palace spokesman said the duke would have got little, if any, sleep and was expected to arrive at Oak Centre for Children and Young People on a royal flight helicopter this afternoon.

His wife, who was in London, was arriving by car.

The royal couple have been enjoying married life together in North Wales since their glittering nuptials in April.

They have deliberately kept a low profile over recent months as the Duke, a flight lieutenant with the RAF Search and Rescue Force, is focusing on earning a promotion to captain.


source:dailymail