The mother of teenage photographer Liz Hatton, who died of cancer last month, has revealed how the Prince and Princess of Wales have continued to support her family since her death.
Speaking at a tribute to her daughter today, Vicky Robayna told the Mail that the couple had been “very kind, very loving” and she couldn’t thank them or their team enough.
Surrounded by the photographs of her talented daughter that first caught William and Kate’s attention, she said: “They are incredibly kind. They have been in touch throughout. It has been a difficult time but we have received messages from them. They and their team check in frequently. They have taken amazing care of us.
‘They even invited us to the carol service on Friday. We didn’t know if we’d feel like going, but I’m so glad we did. It was so beautiful. They really took care of us.
‘I knew it would be one of those things we would regret if we hadn’t gone. It was difficult because Liz was determined to do it and now we have a lot of memories associated with London. But I think we knew how angry she would be with us if we didn’t go. The prince and princess made it much easier. ‘
Liz was just 17 years old when she died from an extremely rare and largely untreatable cancer called desmoplastic small round cell tumor and was only ten months old from the day she was diagnosed to the day she died.
As a passionate photographer, she decided to do as much as she could in the time she had left and devised, with the help of her family, a “bucket list” to capture.
After the Prince of Wales found out, he invited her to Windsor Castle in October to photograph an investiture he was holding.
The mother of teenage photographer Liz Hatton, who died of cancer last month, has revealed how the Prince and Princess of Wales have continued to support her family since her death.
Liz was just 17 years old when she died from an extremely rare and largely untreatable cancer called desmoplastic small round cell tumor and was only ten months old from the day she was diagnosed to the day she died.
To the family’s surprise, he invited them to tea and they were joined by his wife Kate, who has gone through her own battle with cancer this year.
A photograph of her hugging Liz went viral and offers poured in from organizations to help her tick off the remaining items on her list, as well as dozens of others, including an assignment at the Daily Mail.
Like the prince and princess, audiences were deeply moved by Liz’s strength, maturity and determination in facing her tragic and inevitable death.
She was looking forward to celebrating Christmas and the family had even tried to move up their own celebrations so she could spend them with her beloved younger brother, Mateo.
Sadly, he passed away quietly in the early hours of November 27, before that could happen.
Vicky, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said: “We take great comfort in the legacy he has left for someone his age.” And we really have the prince and princess to thank for that. I mean, before that there had been a little bit of publicity about her wishlist, but after she got highlighted, it just took off.
‘I’ve seen things on Twitter (X) attacking them and saying they’re just doing it for publicity, but that’s nonsense. It just makes me so angry. We gave them full permission to make Liz’s story public to help her and others. No one will ever know the extent of what they and their team have done behind the scenes to help us. Everyone has been incredibly friendly, kept in touch all this time and looked after us very well. Liz wanted people to know that.
‘He loved its authenticity. I think kids can detect it. A lot of the reason he did the press afterwards was because he wanted to tell everyone how nice the prince and princess were. They were so sincere. Liz knew how difficult chemotherapy is and was angry because some people had criticized the princess for how she had handled her diagnosis. It made her incredibly sad. I was angry because people weren’t being nice.
Speaking at a tribute to her daughter today, Vicky Robayna told the Mail that the couple had been “very kind, very loving” and she couldn’t thank them or their team enough. Vicky pictured with photos of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK cast members taken by her daughter before a celebration of the teenage photographer’s life at the Doubletree By Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa.
Unable to hold a traditional funeral, Vicky today organized an exquisite exhibition of her work and celebration of her life in her hometown of Harrogate.
Like the prince and princess, audiences were deeply moved by Liz’s strength, maturity and determination in facing her tragic and inevitable death. Liz and her family photographed with the prince and princess.
Vicky says she and her family, including Liz’s stepfather Aaron, live life “day by day” and try to focus on the positive.
Liz made the incredibly mature decision to donate her body to medical science after her death in the hopes that studies of her condition could help prevent another family from being torn apart like they did. Within days of his death, his body was transported to the University of Glasgow for medical students to study.
Unable to hold a traditional funeral, Vicky today organized an exquisite exhibition of her work and celebration of her life in her hometown of Harrogate.
He also announced his intention to create a charity dedicated to research into rare forms of cancer like his. The family have already set up a fund which has raised £40,000 in just a matter of days.
You can donate to the JustGiving fundraiser here.
‘I think fundraising is helping us get through things and move forward. We lost Liz, we couldn’t save her. But others of us can save ourselves,’ he said.
‘He received exceptional care from the NHS, but what failed him was the lack of funding for rare cancers from the government and pharmaceutical companies. The only people interested in this are the families affected and there is no charity for it anywhere in the world, so we have to bring people together.
“The way I see it, there was less than a million chances of Liz getting this cancer, as there are only 12 cases each year in the UK, and 80% of them are children. The chances of her getting it The chances of a princess hugging her are equally minuscule, right? The fact that those two things collided and created the enormous interest in her has to be for a reason. for good and make a difference.
Vicky says Christmas will be “difficult” and they haven’t decided if or how to celebrate it, although they know Santa Claus will still come for Mateo (pictured with a photo his sister Liz took of him)
Liz made the incredibly mature decision to donate her body to medical science after her death in the hopes that studies of her condition could help prevent another family from being torn apart like they did. Pictured with his family in November.
Liz, photographed with her brother Mateo, in August. The talented photographer passed away in November
The family have already set up a fund which has raised £40,000 in just a matter of days. Liz photographed in October
‘Now we want to make sure that everyone who receives a diagnosis can seek it out and find the right support, not go searching for a needle in a haystack like we did. If we can save one family from going through what we have, it will be worth it.
“And Liz wouldn’t want us to be depressed, she would want us to help those who are still alive.”
Vicky says that Christmas will be “difficult” and that they haven’t decided if or how to celebrate it, although they know that Santa Claus will still come for Mateo.
“We still can’t believe he’s gone. I think we still lie to ourselves a lot.” We look at things and think how much he would have loved it, which gives us happiness and pain at the same time,” he said candidly.
In a video tribute to her daughter, played at today’s event accompanied by dozens of photographs of Liz before and after her diagnosis, Vicky added: “You were brave, beautiful and brilliant. You were dedicated, determined and kind. Passionate about fighting for your beliefs and never happier behind a camera.
‘An unexpected meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales left us speechless and changed the rest of his life. It wasn’t easy to win your heart, but once you did, you were unfailingly loyal. Then you talked about how incredible the Prince and Princess had been with Mateo: always the way to your heart.
‘You accepted your fate with a grace and determination that I’m not sure you would achieve for many adults. You made the most of every second, grateful for every magical moment that came your way. You never complained, you never said ‘why me’.
‘You shone so brightly…’