Prince William

Today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine were in London to undertake two visits. They visited Evelina London Children’s Hospital and the Passage Charity.

The Evelina London  Children’s Hospital is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and Community, where the royal couple heard from Staff and parents about the hospitals’ life-changing care and support. They joined children receiving care in a number of Christmas-themed activities.

Upon arrival the couple was received by Director Marian Ridley, Sir Hugh Taylor, Chairman of Guys & St Thomas’s hospital and Dept Lord-Lieutenant Colleen Harris. 6 years old little Tiana Yales, who is being treated for sickle cell, presented a bouquet to Duchess.

Ahead of the visit, the Palace announced that Duchess of Cambridge became the patron of Evelina London Children’s Hospital. It is the same hospital Duke and Duchess named as the charity they recommended well-wishers donate to instead of sending a gift after the birth of Prince Louis in April 2018.

Palace announced,

“The new patronage has been announced ahead of Her Royal Highness’ visit to Evelina London later this morning with The Duke of Cambridge. The visit will see Their Royal Highnesses learn more about how the hospital supports children and their families, and the specialist services provided to children with rare and complex conditions.

Through visits to hospitals and hospices The Duchess has seen first-hand the impact that comprehensive care and support can have upon young children. Her Royal Highness’s new patronage of Evelina London provides an opportunity to champion the medical professionals working on the front-line in children’s healthcare, and shine a light on their work supporting children in their early years”.

The hospital, which is next year marking its 150th anniversary, is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, of which The Queen is Patron.

Evelina London cares for children and young people from before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life. The hospital provides a range of services to children across south London and south-east England. Evelina London also provides community services for children and their families in Lambeth and Southwark.”

From DailyMail, ” Evelina London Children’s Hospital – where Cbeebies presenter Dr Ranj Singh used to work as a doctor – cares for youngsters with rare and complex conditions from across South London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Now part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – of which the Queen is Patron – the hospital was founded for poor children in 1869 by Ferdinand de Rothschild in memory of his wife, Evelina, three years after she died in childbirth. Funded entirely by the wealthy Austrian baron’s money, it was built to house 100 beds and opened with 30 cots – and was run as a private charity by Mr de Rothschild and his friends.

The hospital – based across the River Thames from the Houses of Parliament – now includes 167 inpatient beds, including 20 intensive care beds, a 52-cot neonatal unit, five operating theatres and one cardiac theatre. It also has a full children’s imaging service with MRI scanner, x-ray and ultrasound, a kidney dialysis unit, an outpatients department, medical day care unit and a hospital school. The hospital also provides community services for children and families in Lambeth and Southwark, including health visitors, school nurses and input to prevent children with long-term health conditions needing hospital care.

It has themed floors and a conservatory, and the seven-storey glass-fronted building features a four-storey conservatory and impressive views of Lambeth Palace and Archbishop’s Park. Recent celebrity visitors to the hospital – which is marking its 150th anniversary next year – include England footballer Dele Alli, who visited last year, and James Bond actor Daniel Craig, who popped in while filming Spectre in 2015″.

About the new patron, Marian Ridley, Director of Evelina London, said: “We are absolutely delighted and deeply honoured The Duchess of Cambridge has chosen to become our Patron. The Duchess shares our passion for giving children and young people the very best start in life and Her Royal Highness’ support will help champion the life-saving care our staff are providing to our patients.

“It is a huge pleasure to welcome Their Royal Highnesses back to our hospital and we are absolutely delighted that they are able to join us as we begin to celebrate our milestone 150th anniversary. We are immensely grateful for Their Royal Highnesses’ support and we look forward to working closely with The Duchess as our Patron.”

Duchess of Cambridge has visited the Guy’s and St Thomas’ earlier this year in March to launch the Nursing Now 2020 campaign.

In the hospital, the royal couple joined some of the children in making Christmas gifts and cards. Duchess of Cambridge has found her niche. She wanted to make a small difference as the royal, and now she is taking on the role of a champion for early years intervention. Her new patronage is another step towards what she wants to do as a royal.

Today Catherine was in a mummy mode. she was seen enjoying her time with children. The Duchess of Cambridge kicked off the 150th-anniversary celebrations by helping patients who have been treated at the hospital to complete a commemorative artwork and to unveil a special anniversary banner with Cruz Brown, Cruz is featured on a special Evelina London 150^th anniversary banner.

Cruz’s mother Debbie Thompson spoke to the Duchess about the care Cruz has received at the hospital. Cruz has a rare kidney condition and has been an Evelina London patient since he was born. He visits the hospital three times a week for dialysis. Debbie, a mother-of-three, said: “The Duke and Duchess were very down to earth and personable. They were interested in the care that Cruz has been receiving at Evelina London. They also said that they very impressed by the slide in the outpatient’s department and said that it looks like a lot of fun for the children. It feels like a real honour that Cruz has been chosen to represent Evelina London on its special 150^th banner. He absolutely loves coming to the hospital and is well known to the staff and patients. The staff really go out of their way to care for him and make his visits fun and enjoyable. I’m very thankful for the care he has received.“

“It’s always such a pleasure to come and meet patients and families who are here. A huge thank you to everyone here at Evelina for doing such an amazing job on a daily basis in supporting children and their extended families both here and also out in the community.”

Later on, William and Catherine headed towards the Passage Charity. Passage Charity is Uk’s largest Resource Center for homeless people and provides accommodation to homeless people and works in homelessness prevention projects, offering diverse day services including housing advice, medical advice, drug and alcohol addiction services.

At the centre, the Duke and Duchess heard from front line workers about some of the challenges relating to street homelessness including drug addiction and mental health issues.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met staff and volunteers to learn more about their work linking clients into statutory services and minimising harm and help them prepare for the next week’s Christmas Party.

Established in 1980, The Passage provides resources to encourage, inspire and challenge homeless people to make lasting and long-term changes to their lives. Each year up to 200 people are helped by the Passage, which is London’s largest voluntary sector resource centre for homeless and vulnerable people.

The visit was special for William as he first visited the charity in 1994 with his younger brother Harry when the pair were 12 and 10, alongside their mother Diana, Princess of Wales. He also opened newly refurbished St Vincent’s Centre.

William and Catherine then joined an arts and crafts session with homeless people at the Passage to prepare cards and gifts ahead of centre’s Christmas party next week. Duchess made bead bracelets with the ladies and said: “Charlotte would love this”.

Catherine, who studied History of Arts, has a keen interest in Arts and Craft so was at home during arts & crafts session.

Emily Andrews on Twitter reported during the arts and crafts workshop William joked, “my son knows how useless I am at this-Catherine is much better.” He sat next to CEO Mick Clarke & they discussed the Spice epidemic that is affecting the homeless across the country. The Telegraph reported,

During the visit the Duke told Mick Clarke, chief executive of The Passage: “The fact it was a legal high and that young people were allowed to take it and it leads to addiction is just terrible.”

After giving the couple a private briefing on spice Mr Clarke said: There was real empathy that came from both the duke and duchess, they very much care about the issue and I think it marks the way they care about the poorest in society and they take their responsibility to raise those issues, to give it the profile that’s needed, very seriously.

I think they genuinely get it in terms of the stuff they’ve done around, say, Heads Together [the mental health campaign] and I think they really appreciated hearing first hand the terrible effects of Spice.

How cheap it is to just get, how readily available it is, I think they were shocked and I think it really brought home this is a drug that targets the poorest of the poor.

If you’re on the streets it doesn’t get much worse but if you’re on the streets and then you’re taking something that literally one puff could hospitalise you, in some cases lead to your death or make you out to be a zombie stereotype figure.

There was a lot of talk around how we break the cycle of addiction, mental health and homelessness.

Duchess premiered a new look today. She was wearing LK Bennett Mortimer Green Polka Dot Silk Dress.

The dress was described as, “Designed in understated green and cream patterned silk, the Mortimer dress is a key style to wear through the season. The fitted waist helps shape an hourglass silhouette, while the pussy-bow detail adds a feminine touch to this button-down design”.

The £325.00 dress featured a pussy bow neckline, pearl detailing bodice, full sleeves with pearled cuffs, a fitted waistline and pleated skirt. The dress is currently available in Green and navy hue.

A closer look at the dress.

She is carrying L.K. Bennett Dora Clutch debuted last week during a visit to Cyprus.

She is wearing Gianvito Rossi Suede Gianvito 85 Pumps in Green. Thanks to HeavenLM for shoe id. Catherine also wore the same pumps last week during a visit to Cyprus. The Pumps were described as, ” An enduring single sole style that never fails to impress. Gianvito Rossi’s namesake pumps are an iconic design are loved by royals and fashion insiders alike. Transcending seasonal whims in favour of a flattering low-cut topline and elegant pointed-toe, you will cherish this suede pair for years to come”. The $634 pumps are not available any more.

She finished her look with Annoushka pearl and Kiki McDonough hoops earrings.

As Prince George and Princess Charlotte are starting their Winter break, I am hoping for at least one more engagement from Duke and Duchess of Cambridge next week, before they retreat to their country residence Anmer Hall where we will see them on the Christmas Day. We will also get a glimpse of William and Catherine and hopefully kids also when they will join the Queen and extended Royal Family for annual Christmas Lunch at Sandringham.

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