After months of Zoom appearances, Duchess Kate joins families to plant garden at children's hospice
Duchess Kate helped brighten The Nook, a children's hospice near the eastern English city of Norwich, by joining families to plant a garden, marking the end of Children’s Hospice Week on Thursday.
It was one of the first in-person public appearances since the coronavirus pandemic began. The royal, who shared new family photos of husband Prince William and their children for his birthday last weekend, also visited a gardening center in Norfolk on June 18.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to all those families out there who are caring for and looking after a child with a life-limiting illness," the Duchess said, according to a release from Kensington Palace. "You do the most extraordinary job and I know it’s particularly hard at the moment so my thoughts go out to you all.”
Together, Kate, a volunteer gardener, staff members and two families planted "sensory plants" including rosemary, lavender and bay, plus strawberry plants, geraniums, hydrangeas and other herb plants – the color scheme was lilac and is meant to be calming.
In photos released Saturday, she is seen wearing a crepe floral midi dress that royal fashion watchers identified as being from Faithfull the Brand with a pair of beige espadrilles, her go-to summer footwear.
The Nook is one of the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), which care for children and young adults with life-threatening illnesses in several counties and supports their families. While there, she met with EACH's care and facilities team members for a discussion and to and give thanks for the work they do, according to a release from Kensington Palace.
"The care and the nurture that you provide children and families in the most unimaginable circumstances is just awe-inspiring," said Kate.
The Duchess has been a patron of EACH since 2012 and attended The Nook's opening last year.
EACh offers nursing care, symptom management, well-being activities, therapy and volunteer services in the home to meet the needs of the patient and family. During the coronavirus pandemic, EACH has continued to offer end-of-life and emergency care in addition to support for bereavement, shifting some services online and over the phone.
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The Children's Hospice Week for 2020 was organized by the United Kingdom's "Together for Short Lives" charity, which describes itself as a "lifeline" for the families of seriously ill children. During the week, the charity worked to raise funds for all 54 of the children's hospices located in the U.K.
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