The Duchess Plants a Very Special Sunflower During Visit to the Nook

The Duchess of Cambridge carried out her second public engagement since Covid-19 restrictions began in March, with a visit to East Anglia's Children's Hospice's Nook in Framingham Earl, Norfolk. The visit took place quietly on Thursday.

The visit was in support of Children's Hospices Week which ends tomorrow. On Monday, a Zoom video call with Kate and the Duchess of Cornwall was released, with a family supported by EACH through the incredibly painful loss of their son and brother participating. Whilst speaking about the loss of nine-year-old Fraser, Kate promised to plant a Sunflower in his memory at one of EACH's hospices. She continued: "Children's hospices go that extra mile actually and support families like yourselves, I think it's extraordinary. They consider the whole family as well, which is really important."

On Thursday, Kate planted a sunflower in Fraser's memory.

The Mirror reports: "The blooms are the symbol of hospice care and was the favourite of Fraser, who suffered a rare genetic condition and died in January. His mum Carla, 37, said: 'I'm speechless. We are very touched as a family that she has done this and will be going to see Fraser's sunflower when we can. Fraser was always quite girly, and he would have loved to have known a princess was planting a flower for him. He would be very honoured.'"

As we have discussed on the blog before, COVID-19 has dealt a devastating blow to the charitable sector. EACH's charity shops typically generate £100,000 per week, but with their closure in recent months and the cancellation of so many fundraising activities, it presents a large shortfall in their annual budget. Chief Executive Tracy Rennie told the BBC: "What we are all facing is unprecedented. We know this is a very challenging and uncertain time for everyone, and for EACH the financial impact is overwhelming." There are over 450 families in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk depending on their services. They estimate they have lost £1.8 million in the past three months. They launched an emergency appeal which has once again brought out the community spirit of the areas they work in. If you wish to donate please click here.

You'll notice a staggering £16,000 donation to the appeal from the family. 13-year-old Stuie was determined to make a difference after losing his brother. Every day in May, he ran 5K and raised funds for EACH through his Just Giving page. Stuie said it's his way of thanking the hospice and its staff for the "amazing memories" he will cherish thanks to EACH.

Stuie added: "Fraser wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend."

More from EACH:

'Fraser had Coats plus syndrome, a rare condition that affects multiple organs and causes brain abnormalities that worsen over time, slow growth, movement disorders, seizures and a decline in intellectual function.

The Delf family began their journey with our hospice in Milton, believing they only had days left to spend together. Fraser managed to defeat the odds, lasting seven weeks, a little longer than doctors anticipated, before he died on 17 January 2020.

In the seven weeks spent at the hospice, the family were able to create some amazing memories – including Mum, Carla and Dad, Stuart renewing their wedding vows.'

There was another special reason for the visit. Kate brought a selection of plants and seeds she purchased during her visit to Fakenham Garden Centre earlier this month, to create a garden with volunteers, staff and families. Kensington Palace said: "The Duchess helped create a space that would provide enjoyment for children and families, using sensory plants such as lavender, bay and rosemary. The garden also contains strawberry plants, herbs, geraniums and hydrangeas in a calming lilac colour scheme."

The Telegraph reports:

“The children are really enjoying growing their sunflowers,” she said. “Louis’s is winning so George is a little grumpy about that!”

Tracy Rennie, EACH’s acting chief executive said the Duchess had offered to create a new garden for the home to “bring people together”, choosing pots and plants in line with expert suggestions during her visit to Fakenham garden centre last week.

Her shopping list included strawberries, sunflowers, lavender, thyme, rosemary, geraniums, hydrangeas, two large bay trees, rock hyssop, sage, chives and tarragon, which have now been planted at the Nook.'

While there, she was seen pushing a trolley full of plants and making small talk with other customers, empathising with grandparents socially-distancing from their grandchildren and disclosing she too has missed the Middleton family she is yet to see since lockdown.'

Kate joked she was making a "big mess" as the group got their hands dirty.

Hello! shared a moving story about a family Kate met:

Star, 11, Hudson, eight and six-year-old Sonny Pope-Saunders helped her transform the shady spot. With her eldest son George due to turn seven on 22 July, the Duchess no doubt felt huge empathy for Kelly and Jordan Pope-Saunders, who were visiting the hospice for the first time with Sonny, who was a normal healthy boy until he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour shortly after his birthday in February. But there were plenty of smiles as she met the little boy.

Tracy Rennie, acting chief executive of EACH, told her: "Sonny’s got you a present!" as he held out a white wristband inscribed with his fundraising slogan "Sonny Smiles" for her to take. Crouching down to chat to him, Kate said: "Hi Sonny, Wow, is that for me? Thank you very much Sonny, am I allowed to take it? Are you going to give it to me later?" After handing it to her with a smile, she popped it straight onto her right wrist.

"Is this your first time here? What do you think, have you had a look around?" she asked the family. "It’s lovely," said mum Kelly, 31. She told Kate how she had taken her son to see the GP in February because he wasn’t himself. Within days he had been diagnosed with the difficult-to-treat brain tumour. "It all happened quite quickly," said the Duchess, who looked visibly moved and shook her head as Kelly added: “And then lockdown hit."

There's footage of Kate meeting the Pope-Saunders family in the video below (at roughly 1 minute 20 seconds in).

When EACH announced ambitious plans to raise £10 million pounds for a purpose-built hospice in the heart of Norfolk, named the Nook in 2014, it was clear this would be an enormous undertaking, but a necessary one, in order to care for the needs of families in the area. They had outgrown their hospice in Quidenham, a very old two-storey building with accessibility issues. I've said it before, the appeal and the sheer level of efforts to reach a figure - which may have seemed insurmountable initially - was nothing short of inspiring to watch. On social media day after day, one would see updates on bake sales, sports events, corporate sponsors, donations to EACH's charity shops, fundraisers by the local cadets and local businesses.

With these countless endeavours and high-profile support from the Duchess of Cambridge and Ed Sheeran, step by step the goal was achieved.

Kate officially opened the Nook, wearing her violet Oscar de la Renta suit, last November. During a speech the Duchess said: "The Nook is a realisation of a vision that began five years ago. Thanks to immense generosity and support from all those who contributed to the Appeal, this state-of-the-art facility is fully operational and already making such a difference. At the opening of the Treehouse Hospice many years ago (which I think I will remember for some years to come as it was my first ever speech!), I referred to your hospices as being homes. This visit today has only reinforced for me just what is at the heart of what you do here, throughout your work, and that is family."

And now seven months later, the Nook is a home away from home and the dream has been very much realised.

In a message from the Duchess about Children’s Hospice Week, she said: "This Children’s Hospice Week, I’d like to thank the amazing staff for all the work that you do in children’s hospices around the UK. The care and the nurture that you provide children and families in the most unimaginable circumstances is just awe-inspiring. I'd also like to pay tribute to all those families out there who are caring for and looking after a child with a life-limiting illness. You do the most extraordinary job and I know it's particularly hard at the moment, so my thoughts go out to you all."

Now, Kate's stylish summery look for the outing.

Kate's dress is the lilac Marie-Louise style by Indonesian ethical label Faithfull the Brand (with thanks to Regal RepliKate). The $189 dress is described as: "Faithfull the Brand's feminine dresses are made with the warmer months in mind. This 'Marie-Louise' crepe style is decorated with colorful hand-painted blooms against a lilac backdrop, and shirred at the sleeves and bust to create an empire shape." It's available at Net-A-Porter, Faithfull The Brand's website and The Iconic.

The print is called 'Nefeli Floral'.

The Duchess wore her Russell & Bromley Coco Nut wedges.

It appears Kate wore her £5 Accessorize hoop earrings.

It was a lovely engagement and very poignant to see Kate planting a sunflower for Fraser. It clearly meant a great deal to his family.