While his wife visited The Ark Open Farm in Newtownards in Northern Ireland and Social Bite in Aberdeen, Scotland on Wednesday, in support of her early childhood survey the Duke of Cambridge hosted youngsters and families supported by the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund at St. James Palace, London.
While speaking to the Police Commissioner and president of the fund, Cressida Dick, William said: “I’m trying to write as much as I can to people involved in the emergency services.”
In response the Commissioner said Prince William writes quite often to families and sometimes to officers themselves and it’s really very much appreciated.
“He clearly has a passion for supporting people in public service, whether it’s defence, military or emergency services. And with his background experiences, he knows a bit about the challenges these people will face. So many people commented to me you can see the empathy when he is talking to people. It really means a massive amount to them, they know it means something to him. We are lucky to have him as our patron, we are very proud of it. It means a lot to the individuals. Just the fact that he is taking an interest, he speaks not just to these families, but to the wider city, that he’s on our side, he’s with us and thinking about us. We in the police see ourselves as very much a family and we want to look after our families on all occasions but particularly if somebody is lost in service.”
Emma, George MacParland, from Camberley, Surrey in describing how supportive the charity had been said: “I meet people who are in the same situation, you don’t need to explain things. People understand what you’re going through on a daily basis. It helps, it really helps. It’s not as if I forget about my dad, but I get lost in something different and it’s quite distracting because it’s fun and you don’t just need to be sad all the time when you have these other exciting things to do.”
Patron of the fund, William, who has extended his patronage of the Fund said: “Over the past 150 years – as the oldest police charity in the world – the Fund has provided care to the children of police officers in their hour of greatest need. Our society is defined by how we look after those who keep us all safe. It matters deeply that we help the families who play such an important role in supporting them.”
At the event was Jane Langley, mother of Joshua who received the Philip Cronin Award for Endeavour and Achievement in 2017 and later died in 2018 from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. She attended with her daughter Ella, and son Thomas, who have been beneficiaries of the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund.
The fund was first established in 1870 as The Metropolitan Police Orphanage, to provide accommodation to orphans of officers in the Metropolitan and City of London Police but the orphanage closed in 1937.
So far the fund has offered support to more than 15,200 children of serving police officers who have died or who have been medically retired due to injuries. It also helps with educational costs such as field trips, school equipment and extracurricular activities including sports and music clubs.
