The Princess of Wales has commended “brave” children with life-limiting conditions after listening to youngsters play music during a visit to a hospice.
Kate, who is the patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (Each), spent nearly an hour talking to children and families who are receiving care at The Treehouse hospice in Ipswich in Suffolk on Thursday.
The unit provides short breaks and palliative support for children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and bereavement support for families.
The future queen, who opened the hospice in March 2012, saw its music therapy room and a sensory room with special lighting, a water bed and a projector.
Kate attends a music therapy session during a visit to The Treehouse children’s hospice in Ipswich (Chris Radburn/PA)
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Kate met four-year-old Primrose Harvey, who has a rare congenital heart defect called hypoplastic right-heart syndrome, and her parents who regularly bring her to The Treehouse.
The little girl’s mother Katie told the princess that Primrose has had three heart surgeries, including one at six days old and another only two weeks ago.
Kate told Primrose’s mother: “Super brave girl and brave parents too.”
Mrs Harvey said it was “lovely” to speak to the Princess of Wales about her daughter and the support they receive.
She told the Press Association: “It was really lovely just to talk about, you know, how amazing Each is for us as a family.
“It’s really nice for her to come here and see first-hand how much they do for families.”
Kate inside a light sensory room during her visit to The Treehouse children’s hospice (Chris Radburn/PA)
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Charlotte Freegard, 13, who has a rare genetic muscle disorder called nemaline myopathy, sang Perfect by Ed Sheeran through a microphone for Kate who clapped and told her she was “brilliant”.
As the princess sat beside the girl at a piano she said: “Charlotte, that was beautifully sung. Well done you.”
Kate said it was good for the children to have so much musical equipment and asked Charlotte: “You’re able to express yourself and really enjoy yourself?” to which the girl replied: “Definitely.”
Kate with Charlotte Freegard during a music therapy session (Chris Radburn/PA)
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Freddie Ormrod, 11, who has the mitochondrial genetic disorder Leigh syndrome, which causes epileptic seizures and profound physical disability, played chimes and a tambourine during Kate’s visit.
Freddie’s father James jokingly told the princess there was only so long he could listen to the chimes, to which she replied: “It is noisy.
“Often in our household, the noisier the instrument the better.”
Kate, who was wearing a dark green blazer and trousers, donned a white hard hat and orange hi-vis vest to visit a construction site where the hospice is being expanded, including a new hydrotherapy pool, a wellbeing and therapies suite, and a new bedroom that will be completed in 2028.
Kate donned a hard hat to view construction work during her visit to The Treehouse (Chris Radburn/PA)
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She spent a while speaking to a group for bereaved families who told her about the importance of having someone to talk to after losing a child.
Sam Morley, who has been attending the bereavement group since her 17-year-old son Euan, who had a degenerative neurological condition, died two years ago, said Kate was “very interested and very empathetic”.
Ms Morley told PA: “She was asking a lot about the bereavement support for not only us but other siblings and things like that.”
She said Euan “loved” coming to The Treehouse hospice, adding: “He absolutely loved music. That was our big thing.”