News
The Duchess spends a day in Hertfordshire
26th January 2006
The Duchess of Cornwall spent a day in Hertfordshire visiting St Albans Cathedral and helping to highlight a fundraising appeal at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC).
The Duchess, a keen horsewoman and owner of three Jack Russell terriers, is Patron of the Animal Care Trust which is part of the Royal Veterinary College near Hatfield.
She was visiting to show her support for the ‘Paws for a Cause' Appeal which aims to raise £5 million.
The money will go towards a redevelopment to increase the number of operating theatres and consulting rooms, the size of the intensive care unit as well as create special treatment areas for emergency and cancer care cases.
During the visit, The Duchess visited a number of departments and wards, and met clinicians, students, veterinary nurses, academics and physiotherapists as well as some of the animal patients, some of whom have appeared on the television series Super Vets.
The Duchess met lively springer spaniel Frodo and his owners Mr and Mrs Money Kyrie. Frodo featured on the television series when he had an operation to fix six screws into his spine to mend a broken neck.
But today he was running around the wards of the hospital showing little sign of the spinal surgery.
The Duchess commented on how well Frodo looked after his life or death surgery.
“He looks a very happy person now. It is so wonderful to see the end result,” added The Duchess. “He is obviously very used to being a bit of star.”
Chris Lamb, senior lecturer in radiology added: “He is a great example of the things you can achieve when you utilise the high technology available.”
The Duchess also watched red setter Paddy undergo an ultrasound scan for a heart valve condition and met six-year-old former showjumper Fred who has been confined to stables for six months after severing two tendons in his lower leg.
Later The Duchess visited St Albans Cathedral with the Dean, the Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey John, to see conservation and educational work.
The Cathedral is renowned for its educational programmes and 15,000 pupils visit each year.
The Duchess met children who were taking part in an educational trail in the Presbytery before visiting the sacred centrepiece of the Cathedral, the Shrine of St Alban which hosts a fragment of the saints bone in the shrine.
She also met children from the Abbey Church of England Primary School who turned themselves into an artistic representation of the Cathedral‘s stained glass windows for her visit.