The Duchess of Cambridge officially opened The Nook, a facility in Norwich built by the East Anglia Children’s Hospices to help kids and their families while they need hospice care.
In a speech, Kate said, “It is wonderful to be here today to open The Nook Hospice. And a huge congratulations to everyone here involved.
The Nook is a realisation of a vision that began five years ago. Thanks to immense generosity and support from all those who contributed to the Appeal, this state-of-the-art facility is fully operational and already making such a difference.”
The Duchess gave her first official speech to mark the opening of the Treehouse Hospice, as supported by EACH, years ago, and she said today that she will remember that event for years to come. “I referred to your hospices as being homes. This visit today has only reinforced for me just what is at the heart of what you do here, throughout your work, and that is family.”
Kate helped launch The Nook’s fundraising appeal five years ago, with the goal of raising £10 million. The most current figure on EACH’s website is £9.3 million. When the appeal launched, Her Royal Highness penned a message for their program, which read, “In addition to developing their care across East Anglia, the task of fund-raising for a new hospice in the heart of Norfolk begins.
“I have been fortunate to meet with a number of families receiving services from EACH.
“Hearing how much EACH’s support means to them reminds me what a wonderful organisation it is: I am enormously proud to be their patron.”
The Nook in Norwich was launched as a way to “enable us to do both, better, and at the same time. It will be a central hub, serving families across the county with specialist care both in the hospice and the community,” per the appeal’s website, and will create access to a cutting-edge building for children in need of cutting-edge care.
Kate said, “You have created here at The Nook a nurturing, caring environment that allows families who are going through the unimaginable the ability to spend precious quality time with each other, comforted in the knowledge that their children are being looked after in the best possible way.”
When the Duchess of Cambridge announced her first four patronages in 2012, EACH was one of them. “Whilst a lot has changed since then, my commitment and support for this wonderful organisation and the work that you do has not,” she said.
“Over the years, I have seen first-hand the depth of EACH’s reputation as a standard-bearer in children’s hospice care, both here in the U.K. and internationally too, during my visits to Malaysia and Australia.”
The charity’s acting Chief Executive, Tracy Rennie, said in a press release, “It’s always a pleasure when Her Royal Highness visits, but today felt like a particularly momentous celebration given how long in the making this building has been and the Duchess’s previous support for the fundraising appeal.
“The Nook has been a superb achievement by everyone here as well as all our volunteers and supporters across Norfolk, and even further afield, and this was reflected in the kind words shared by the Duchess with invited guests.
“We’re now in no doubt the way we deliver care in future will take great steps forward and give us an opportunity to try out doing things differently, and it’s obviously amazing knowing we have the backing of the Duchess.”
Kate met with families who use The Nook and EACH’s services, and met with Leigh Smith again, a woman she’d met back in 2014 during the appeal launch, and who’d lost her daughter a few months before the appeal began.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Smith said, “It was really lovely to see her again and she gave me a big hug.”
She also revealed that she and Kate talked about the difficulties of discussing death and how there’s still a taboo around the subject, especially that of children’s deaths.
“But I told her how important her role has been in breaking down that taboo, and mental health generally, normalising it and making it easier to talk about such things.
“She batted it off, of course. She’s very down to earth and lovely.”
Another parent who met with the Duchess, Deborah Alford, whose ten-year-old daughter lives with a progressive neurological genetic condition, told Hello! that Kate asked if her daughter, Isabella, could see or hear her.
“I explained that Isabella could see just in front of her. She came to her eye level so that Isabella could see her and there was good eye contact. [Isabella] moved her eyes to look directly at her.”
Kate also toured the facilities, met with the staff, and unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of The Nook, with her “army of little helpers” to help her remove the cover.
STUNNING & BEAUTIFUL