News
The Duchess of Cornwall invites children to decorate the Christmas tree at Clarence House
6th December 2011
The Duchess of Cornwall got into the festive spirit today as she decorated a Christmas tree with a group of children with life-shortening diseases and severe learning disabilities.Her Royal Highness invited 16 young people supported by the Helen and Douglas House hospice for children, and the London Taxidrivers' Fund for Underprivileged Children, to Clarence House, London, for some Christmas fun.
Shaking hands with Finley Middleton, three, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, before the decorating began, she asked: "Are you excited about Christmas?"
Finley's mother Michaela, 43, was also there with her son, who receives care at the Helen House hospice in Oxford for an undiagnosed condition which has left him with immune deficiencies and a failure to thrive.
The eight children supported by the London Taxidrivers' Fund are students at the Jack Taylor School for pupils with severe learning disabilities.
Today the eight pupils were taken from the school in Swiss Cottage, north London, to Clarence House in a fleet of taxis led by one cab decked out as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Hamish's sister Naomi was looked after at Helen House before she died six years ago after suffering from Cockayne Syndrome, a rare congenital disorder which leads to premature ageing.
Hamish and Naomi's mother Nicki Whitworth, 51, said: "The Duchess asked Hamish if he liked computer games and he answered 'no, because my mum is strict and won't let me play them'.
"Hamish came up to me earlier and told me that it was emotional being here because it reminded him of his sister. When your child goes you lose everything you believed in."
See the photos below: