Teenage girl with cancer who met Princess of Wales will be helped to fulfil ‘bucket list’
A teenage girl with cancer has been told she will be helped to fulfil some of her “bucket list” after she met the Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle.
Aspiring photographer Liz Hatton, 16, has a rare and aggressive form of the disease and has dropped her formal studies in favour of following her dream of photography.
She was invited to take photos of an Investiture by the Prince of Wales as part of her “photography bucket list” wishes before having an “unexpected” sit-down with the royal couple on Wednesday afternoon.
Multiple organisations have since come forward to help her tick off her list, which includes capturing a photoshoot with professional models, taking pictures of circus performers and publishing her images in major UK fashion magazines.
The full list was published on X by her mother, Vicky Robayna, in May in a post that states: “She has a rare and aggressive cancer which doctors have told her means she has between 6 months and 3 years to live.”
“We hope every day for a lifetime for her but if we can’t achieve that we hope to create her a lifetime of memories. If we can make even one of her photography bucket list happen for her she will be beyond delighted.”
British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar magazine, Planet Circus and modelling agency Storm Management, which were all named on the list, have said they would help to facilitate her wishes.
The girl, from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, was given rare permission to shoot pictures behind the scenes of an investiture, which were later published by Kensington Palace.
She and her family then sat down for 30 minutes with the Prince and Princess, who “spent a lot of time talking about photography and about things that Liz enjoyed”, according to Ms Robayna.
In pictures released by Kensington Palace after their meeting, Liz was seen hugging the Princess, who shares the teenager’s love for photography and has just completed chemotherapy following her own cancer diagnosis.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Robayna said: “We had no idea that we were going to actually meet the Prince and Princess… and when we found out, we literally thought it would just be a quick hello.”
She added that it was such a “lovely experience,” describing the Prince and Princess as “so kind, so gentle and so thoughtful”.
Discussing her daughter’s bucket list wishes, Ms Robayna said that it “gives them all a focus to get up and keep going every morning.”
“It’s just having something positive to think about and to focus on… now we know that chemotherapy is no longer working,” she said.
Ms Robayna added: “We’re focusing on giving her those positive experiences that make everything easier for all of us because any parent just wants their children to be happy and to have as many experiences in life as they can.
“And we might not be able to give her those for as long as everybody else, but we can make the time she has as special as we can.”
The girl began a photography bucket list after being diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumour, which is rare and has no standard path of treatment, in January.
The Prince found out about her mission to fulfil the list via the London Air Ambulance Charity, of which he is patron.
She has already received offers to photograph the Royal Marines, shot a Charles Jeffrey fashion show during London Fashion Week and watched an episode of her favourite TV show Would I Lie To You? being filmed.
Mr Robayna said Liz has also photographed a local musical but was too unwell over the summer to take pictures of the West End theatre shows that invited her, including Wicked and Cabaret.
From her list, British Vogue has said they hope to create a “memorable” experience for her and Storm Management has offered to organise a “special time” for her with a photoshoot with their models in a professional studio. Harper’s Bazaar are also arranging “opportunities for her work to be featured”.
On Thursday, Liz said that it was “mind-blowing” to hug the Princess of Wales and that she was “very thankful” to get the opportunity to meet her.
“It was quite a mind-blowing, overwhelming experience, to be honest. None of us really expected all the stuff that would happen, but I think we all just feel very honoured and amazed that it actually happened,” she said.
