My World Earth: A hug for Prince William, the Prince of Hearts - Just like her mother Diana, he is informal and relaxed among the children

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

A hug for Prince William, the Prince of Hearts - Just like her mother Diana, he is informal and relaxed among the children

The Prince met pupils, parents and staff at the school, which is the first in the country to achieve specialist school status in cognition and learning

Eresby School is a day school for pupils and students aged two to nineteen with learning difficulties. It is the first school in the country to achieve specialist school status in cognition and learning

Prince William toured the facilities at Eresby School before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the opening of the Life Skills centre

William shows the same informal and relaxed nature as his late mother, especially when surrounded by children

Prince William is hugged by Darren Pearty as he meets children at Eresby School in Lincolnshire today

Prince William was given a teddy as a present from Kelly McKelvy, 10, and her brother Bradley, 14, during a visit to St Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln

The Prince finished his day of appointments with a visit to RAF Coningsby, of which he is honorary air commandant. While he was there, he met the children of serving personnel at Gym Tots playgroup on the base

His easy-going manner and heartwarming smile have already earned comparisons with Princess Diana.

And Prince William followed in his late mother's footsteps today as he comforted terminally-ill patients in the same hospice that Princess Diana did 18 years ago.

The 27-year-old royal spent more than an hour talking to patients, staff and volunteers at St Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln, visited by Diana in 1992, in day of royal engagements.

And William's enthusiastic hug for one little boy as he made an official visit to a school for children with learning difficulties only confirmed the comparison.

He was at Eresby School in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, when Darren Pearty clambered on to his lap.
He also shared a laugh and a joke with his young fan, who was just one of many to greet him at the school.

Eresby School is a day school for pupils and students aged two to nineteen with learning difficulties.

The young Prince then visited St Barnabas Hospice.
He joked with patients, all of whom have terminal illnesses such as cancer and Motor Neurone Disease, during an art class at the centre.

In 1992, his late mother visited the hospice's in-patient site in the centre of Lincoln.

Prince William was invited to visit St Barnabas by his aunt and Princess Diana's elder sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who is currently High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.

Despite the treacherous weather conditions, the Prince spent three hours on the road from Gloucestershire to fulfil today's royal visits.

During the visit the Prince spoke to 59-year-old patient Jane Wood.
After their meeting, she said: 'It was very good. He said I was artistic but I said that I wasn't. He seemed very interested in our art. He's just an ordinary guy, isn't he?'

Prince William also spoke to Kelly McKelvy, 10, and her 14-year-old brother Bradley.

The youngsters, whose mother Jackie, 47, died in March last year after being supported in the hospice, then presented the Prince with a teddy bear called Barnabas.

Kelly said: 'It was a great honour to meet Prince William. Not many people can say they have met him, can they?

'He asked us why we came to St Barnabas and whether the people were nice to us.'
St Barnabas supports between 12 and 15 patients each day. As well as providing a range of complementary therapies such as reiki and Indian head massage, it also has counsellors and offers support to the relatives of those with terminal illnesses.

There are six St Barnabas Hospices across Lincolnshire, between them helping 1,800 patients a year.

Bob Neilans, chairman of the hospice's trustees, said: 'Our patients were very excited about today's visit when we were able to tell them officially about it.

'The weather seems to have held off. It would have been extremely disappointing if it had been unsafe for our patients to come in today but when we checked the forecast last night it said it was going to be good.'

The Prince went on to visit nearby RAF Coningsby, of which he is honorary air commandant.

While he was there, he met the children of serving personnel at Gym Tots playgroup on the base.

He also spoke to the team which maintains the Typhoon jets stationed at Coningsby.

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