Kate Middleton's touching gesture to photographer battling cancer in rare appearance with William
The latest picture comes nearly a month after the Princess of Wales released a landmark cancer update in a sweet video of her, Prince William, and the rest of the Wales family
by Liam Doyle · The MirrorKate Middleton has been pictured for the first time since she released an update on her cancer diagnosis.
The picture, shared on the Kensington Palace official social media channels, shows Princess Kate embracing an aspiring photographer who inspired Kate and Prince William. The photographer, 16-year-old Liz Hatton, has documented her progress working through a bucket list as she battles a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
A caption under one photo posted on X, formerly Twitter, states: "A pleasure to meet with Liz at Windsor today. A talented young photographer whose creativity and strength has inspired us both. Thank you for sharing your photos and story with us." Kate and William enlisted the teen's talents to help document an investiture ceremony held at Windsor today, with photos of the event posted online.
The couple thanked the 16-year-old in another caption posted under a selection of the photos she took of the ceremony that were posted on Instagram. The caption reads: "Congratulations to everyone who received honours at Windsor today! It was a pleasure to have @lizhatton_photography helping us to capture these special moments."
Liz, from Harrogate, was diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumors in January this year, with tumours discovered on both of her ovaries, her omentum tissue, and liver. The rare disease - of which there are only around 12 cases per year in England - is aggressive, and can leave people with just a matter of months to live.
Liz has been told she likely has between six months and three years to live, with the time frame dependant on the effectiveness of the chemotherapy she receives. She has focussed almost solely on photography in the months following her diagnosis, telling Digital Camera World that the craft has "become my focus in life”.
The teenager's mum, Vicky, went viral on X, formerly Twitter, after she posted Liz's bucket list, which includes:
- Photograph the rehearsal of a major musical
- Watch the filming of Would I Lie To You
- Have photographs published in as many magazines as possible
- Take photographs of the catwalk at London Fashion Week
- Photograph circus performers practising their act
- Help film a movie
- Photograph a music festival
- Take photos of the Christmas markets at Tivoli Gardens
- Do a photo shoot with professional models
- Take photos in a fashion shoot at a big fashion house
Among those receiving awards at today's investiture were Ally McCoist, the Rangers and Scotland football legend who was made an OBE by Prince William, and cycling great Mark Cavendish, who was made a knight.