The Queen travelled to
Maidenhead on Friday to officially open the new Thames Hospice building.
Her Majesty was carrying out a
rare joint engagement with her only daughter, Princess Anne, as they made
the poignant visit just before midday.
The 96-year-old monarch, who
made the quick 15-minute drive from her home Windsor Castle, appeared in
high spirits as she braved the heatwave wearing a cream and blue floral dress.
Anne, meanwhile, was typically elegant in a striped yellow dress.
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The Queen visited Thames Hospice on Friday morning
The royals were given a warm
welcome at the hospice, which provides palliative and end-of-life care to
people aged 16 years and over across East Berkshire and South
Buckinghamshire.
The hospice, which has been
running for more than 30 years, provides nursing, medical and therapeutic care
to support the physical, social and emotional needs of patients and their loved
ones.
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She met with staff and volunteers during the tour
Their services are free of
charge, relying on generous donations as well as the time and effort of 700
volunteers.
During the tour, the Queen and
Princess Anne met with staff and volunteers and in one particularly poignant
moment, the monarch was introduced to one hospice patient.
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The royals were presented with beautiful posies
She met Graham White and his
wife Pat, who has stage four cancers and is receiving respite care. Just as the
Queen was being introduced to the couple, Graham’s phone went off, leaving Her
Majesty to remark: “Typical, a phone goes off immediately”.
Mrs. White, 63, sat as she
chatted to the Queen and later described the meeting as “very
emotional”, saying: “This is a memory that I will
treasure.” Of her husband’s phone ringing, she joked: “I could
have killed him! People think the Queen is all stiff upper lip but she has a
sense of humour.”
Graham, who explained his son
had rung him, added: “I turned my wife’s phone off and I could have
sworn mine was off – that was a bit embarrassing.”
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The Queen was introduced to one hospice patient during the poignant engagement
Before leaving the hospice,
she officially unveiled the plaque with her daughter Anne at her side and also
signed the visitors’ book.
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The Queen also signed the visitors’ book
The Chief Executives of the
National Health Services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were
accompanied by a frontline worker from each of the Home Nations. The Queen
bestowed the awards before meeting representatives from each nation.
