Mum-of-two gets special royal invite after stripping off naked with friends

Sally Smart, a wedding photographer, was all smiles recently as she posed outside of Buckingham Palace after being invited to the King's garden party at the royal residence.

And the mum-of-two, 54, earned her invitation to this prestigious event after posing nude alongside her "breast friends" for a charity calendar. This initiative led to Sally and her fellow breast cancer survivors raising £30,000 for the cancer centre where they received treatment.

Sally, who attended the garden party with her husband Iwan, 55, shares: "We saw Prince William and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie too. It was fantastic. It's lovely that the calendar has been recognised like this I just wish everyone could have come with us on the day.", during a chat with the Mirror.

Sally, a mother of two, discovered a lump while showering three days after her mum's funeral in November 2021. Having lost her mum to oesophageal cancer, Sally recalls: "I heard mum's voice in my head telling me to get it checked out, otherwise I probably would have put it off. I went for a mammogram and got called back as they had found two tumours. It was such a shock."

In February 2022, Sally underwent a right breast mastectomy, followed by 12 chemotherapy sessions, 18 immunotherapy sessions and bone infusions. Despite being offered continued hormone treatment, she chose not to have reconstructive surgery.

Once her chemotherapy concluded at the end of 2022, Iwan scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to collect funds for the cancer unit that had saved Sally's life, giving her a fresh fundraising idea. Having previously created two nude calendars for a local environmental initiative, she figured why not assemble the women she had met throughout her cancer journey to bare it all and raise money for the cancer centre?

Explaining her unique idea, Sally, who received treatment at the North Wales Cancer Centre at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, said that she asked some of the women to get involved in a naked calendar.

Embracing their transformations, Sally continues: "We all have scars and boobs missing, but we wanted to celebrate that. We didn't know if people wanted to look at our bodies after surgery, but we wanted to give it a try and the response has been phenomenal."

The group's efforts to raise funds didn't end with the cheeky calendar; they also hosted bingo nights and a 'Boobie Ball' at Prestatyn's Beaches Hotel.

Now, Sally's cancer has returned but she is remaining upbeat, sharing her joy at having 'wonderful women' to do it again with.