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Prince William spends a day in Lincolnshire

11th January 2010

Prince William visited a hospice for terminally ill patients during a day of engagements in Lincolnshire today.

The Prince spent more than an hour talking to patients, staff and volunteers at St. Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln.

The 27-year-old spent time chatting with patients, all of whom have terminal illnesses such as cancer and Motor Neurone Disease, during an art class at the centre.

In 1992 the late Diana, Princess of Wales visited the hospice's in-patient site in the centre of Lincoln.

Prince William was invited to visit St Barnabas by his Aunt, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who is currently High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.

Despite the treacherous weather conditions, The Prince spent three hours on the road from Gloucestershire to fulfil today's royal visit.

During the visit The Prince spoke to 59-year-old patient Jane Wood. After their meeting, she said: "It was very good. He said I was artistic but I said that I wasn't. He seemed very interested in our art. He's just an ordinary guy, isn't he?"

Prince William also spoke to Kelly McKelvy, 10, and her 14-year-old brother Bradley. The youngsters, whose mother Jackie, 47, died in March last year after being supported in the hospice, then presented the Prince with a teddy bear called Barnabas.

Kelly said: "It was a great honour to meet Prince William. Not many people can say they have met him, can they?

"He asked us why we came to St Barnabas and whether the people were nice to us."

St Barnabas supports between 12 and 15 patients each day. As well as providing a range of complementary therapies such as reiki and Indian head massage, it also has counsellors and offers support to the relatives of those with terminal illnesses.

There are six St Barnabas Hospices across Lincolnshire, between them helping 1,800 patients a year.

In 1992, Diana, Princess of Wales visited its in-patient centre during a visit to Lincoln with The Prince of Wales to open the city's Waterside Shopping Centre.

Bob Neilans, Chairman of the Hospice's Trustees, said: "Our patients were very excited about today's visit when we were able to tell them officially about it.

"The weather seems to have held off. It would have been extremely disappointing if it had been unsafe for our patients to come in today but when we checked the forecast last night it said it was going to be good."

Later, The Prince visited nearby RAF Coningsby, of which he is Honorary Air Commandant.

He will meet the children of serving personnel at Gym Tots playgroup on the base. He will also talk to the team which maintains the Typhoon jets stationed at Coningsby.

During his visit to RAF Coningsby, the Prince got the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of a Typhoon FGR4 - an updated version of the plane, which can be used on bombing missions as well as providing air-to-air defence.

Flt Lt Mike Mason, 29, showed him around the aircraft, which is capable of speeds of 1,500mph and is equipped with laser-guided bombs.

Flt Lt Mason said: "Obviously the Prince has quite a lot of knowledge because he has done a lot of flying before."

The Prince was also shown around the Gym Tots playgroup where he met the wives and girlfriends of serving personnel.

Mother-of-two Joanne McGuinness, 30, said: "Prince William was lovely. He was asking us about the group and about how often we came here.

"My little boy asked this morning if Prince William would bring any sweets but he said he did not have any."

Royal sources said the Prince had a genuine interest in military aircraft. This is the second time he has visited RAF Coningsby, which houses 55 Typhoons, two of which are ready to take off at any time.

The Prince is due to get his helicopter wings from RAF Shawbury, in Shropshire, at the end of the week. He is then due to transfer to RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales, where he will train on the Sea King helicopter.

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