Countess Sophie Celebrated an Early Valentine's Day with Families at a Children's Hospice
Today, the Countess of Wessex made a visit to Shooting Star House in Hampton, south west of London—a charity she deemed a "very special place." While at the children's hospice, Sophie read to kids, spoke to parents about the the organization's important services, and tried her hand at icing a Valentine’s Day biscuit.
Arriving at the newly refurbished building at 2:30 p.m., the Countess joined in the activities on offer straight away. "It’s going to be a work of art," she declared about her biscuit after piping a border of blue icing around it. "I should have gone into baking," she added before asking Imogen Barnett, two, and her six year-old sister Brooke what they thought of her creation.
The Barnett family have been accessing the hospice for two years with Imogen, who has a condition called Canavan’s Disease. Her father Tristan told T&C how vital the service is in supporting the family. "Having the ability to access Shooting Stars means that we get a lot of support, it means we can relax when she’s here and then we can try and give Brooke a normal upbringing at the same time as living with a child and caring for a child with such additional complex needs," he said.
He said about the royal visit: "Everyone’s kind of mucked in, there’s no airs and graces, we’ve just been able to get on with it, get mucky, bake cakes, and for Sophie to get involved with that as well has been fabulous."
The Countess also read story That’s Not My Princess to the children. Before she departed she addressed the nurses and care staff at the hospice, saying, "Thank you for what you do in looking after these wonderful and beautiful children. The care and love that you show to every single child who comes through the door is immeasurable. You are their family when they’re here. The parents trust you completely with their children and no price can be put on that. And to all of the people who are helping to fund this amazing organization, thank you—it’s a very special place and I know that many families couldn’t survive without Shooting Star Children’s Hospices."
Jenny, mom of three-year-old Gwen who is living with spina bifida, said, "It’s been a lovely afternoon—Gwen thoroughly enjoyed meeting a real life princess. Gwen decorated a biscuit with the Countess, which is a special memory that we as a family will be able to treasure. When you have a child with a life-limiting condition it’s lovely to be able to do things like this because life can be hard sometimes, and these sorts of things make you realize that you’re not alone. The support that we get from the charity is just brilliant."
Sophie also chatted to four-year-old Albie Barton and his dad Daniel. Albie has Hypoglycaemia, Cardiomyopathy, and other specified congenital malformation syndromes, and has been coming to the hospice for two years. "We didn’t realize how stressful the environment was until it was made a bit lighter," Daniel said of how the hospice has changed things for them.
CEO of Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, Nigel Harding, told T&C he thought the visit was "incredibly informal." He added, "It also, I think, was a very emotional visit for Her Royal Highness. She met some of the families that are suffering from some really tragic conditions and was so supportive. And certainly didn’t rush her visit and spent so much time with each of the families."
The Countess of Wessex is royal patron of Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, which care for babies, children, and young people with life-limiting conditions across London and Surrey, as well as their families. She opened the charity’s Guildford hospice, Christopher’s, in 2002 and has recently hosted a special reception at Buckingham Palace for the charity.
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