Prince William and Kate Middleton Follow in Princess Diana's Footsteps With Royal Visit
Prince William and Kate Middleton have fittingly visited the hospital where Princess Diana carried out her first solo charity trip in 1982.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have made the same visit as Princess Diana did, for their second official engagement since their spectacular Royal Wedding in April.
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in South London was abuzz with excitement as the Royal couple arrived. Prince William had flown a mercy helicopter mission just hours before visiting the hospital’s new $28 million children’s cancer unit.
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Prince William will get to meet again Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed him two years ago for a British children’s news program.
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 prince is president of the Royal Marsden hospital, which is famous for being the first hospital in the world entirely dedicated to the treatment of cancer and research in tackling the disease.
Recently Prince William explained that he wants to put his full-time Royal duties on the back-burner, and for the moment would like to remain as a search and rescue pilot for as long as possible.
The Prince has reportedly told the Queen that he wants to stay in the RAF after 2013, which was when he was scheduled to leave the force. The Queen and Prince Charles have supported his decision to delay plans to become a “full-time royal.”
According to the Daily Mail, a source told the paper: “The Queen, in particular, is very sympathetic to the Duke of Cambridge’s feelings on the subject.”
The source went on to say, “She, more than anyone, knows what it is like to take on full-time royal duties at a young age. Both she and the Prince of Wales are very much of the opinion that Prince William should seize the opportunity to enjoy his career in the RAF while he can.”
