Princess Beatrice makes Christmas come early for youngsters
HRH Princess Beatrice of York made Christmas that bit more special for children at the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield when she took time to visit the centre on Monday 19 December.
Her Royal Highness officially opened the Children’s Hospice in June 2013 and agreed to become the charity’s Royal Patron.
The Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice supports children with life shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire. It has supported more than 185 children and their families both through its ‘hospice at home’ service and at its modern facility at Russell House in Huddersfield.
The hospice, whose care team supports the whole family, can offer services from respite to hydrotherapy, music therapy, neonatal care, counselling or bereavement support and has been rated as “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission, which puts it in the top 2% of Health and Social Care providers in the UK. Every year the hospice needs to raise £3.8million to continue its work.
During her visit, Princess Beatrice met some of the youngsters and their families. One of these children was eight-year-old Gregor Munroe who requires 24/7 care and is supported by the charity through their ‘hospice at home’ service.
Her Royal Highness brought goodie bags and cakes for the children and was escorted throughout her visit by the Chief Executive of the hospice, Peter Branson. The Princess was presented with a bouquet of flowers from nine-year-old Milly-May Dyson whose brother Eric sadly died at just three days old from Edwards Syndrome.
Prior to visiting the hospice, Princess Beatrice paid a special visit to the University of Huddersfield to see the creations designed and made up by fashion students Amy Bean and Celine Constantinides, who are in the second year of their Fashion Design with Textiles BA course. Celine has designed an outfit for the Princess herself and Amy’s dress is for her sister, Princess Eugenie.
The creations were originally part of a portfolio of designs presented to the Princesses. Two designs were selected and toiles were prepared for the royal visitor to view. Her Royal Highness was delighted with the garments and immediately announced plans to enlist her sister to join her for a complete fitting session.