The Princess of Wales has been playing with children at a hospice where she has just been named patron.
In a surprise solo engagement, Kate visited Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice, near Cardiff, where she spent time with children, families and staff.
She has followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana and the King in becoming the institution’s figurehead.
The trip is her second engagement this week after she continues to make a phased return to royal duties after she confirmed earlier this month she is now in remission from cancer.
Irfon Rees, chief executive of Ty Hafan, said: “We are deeply honoured that Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales has become patron of Ty Hafan and it was an absolute pleasure to welcome Her Royal Highness to our hospice for the first time today.
“As our patron, Her Royal Highness will be an inspiration for children with life-shortening conditions and their families, our dedicated staff and volunteers and everyone who so generously supports us.”
The Princess of Wales was seen talking and playing with different children, and had her hand painted by 9-year-old Lottie, whose sibling is being treated at the hospice.
Ty Hafan was founded in 1999 by Suzanne Goodall, after a fundraising campaign lasting more than a decade, when she discovered there wasn’t a children’s hospice in Wales.
Diana was patron during the fundraising phase, and the King took on the role in 2001.
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.
A spokesperson said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull.
“Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family.
“She will be dearly missed.”
Faithfull was best known for her 60s hit As Tears Go By, written by The Rolling Stones’ Jagger and Keith Richards.
She also starred in films including The Girl on a Motorcycle and 2007’s Irina Palm, for which she was nominated for a European Film Award for Best Actress.
In recent years, she provided voice work for the 2021 remake of Dune and 2023’s Wild Summon.
More from Ents & Arts
Born in 1946, Faithfull started her singing career in 1964 after being discovered by the Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
Her self-titled debut album was released a year later, with As Tears Go By reaching number nine on the UK singles chart.
She went on to have a string of successful singles, including Come and Stay with Me, This Little Bird, and Summer Nights, and famously dated Sir Mick from 1966 to 1970.
Faithfull was prolific throughout the 60s, releasing six albums – some only in the UK and some for the US – as well as contributing backing vocals to the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and inspiring the Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil.
That decade also saw her star in films like 1967’s I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname – where she was one of the first people to say f*** in a mainstream studio film – 1968’s The Girl on a Motorcycle, and Tony Richardson’s 1969 adaptation of Hamlet.
Her relationship with Sir Mick was notorious, with the couple being arrested in 1968 for possession of cannabis.
She was also infamously found by police wearing only a bear skin rug when they arrived for a drugs raid at Richard’s home in 1967.
After breaking up with the Stones frontman, Faithfull spent two years homeless in Soho while suffering from anorexia and heroin addiction, before she started living in a squat.
She wrote in her 1994 autobiography: “For me, being a junkie was an admirable life. It was total anonymity, something I hadn’t known since I was 17.
“As a street addict in London, I finally found it. I had no telephone, no address.”
In 1979, following success in Ireland with the country-themed Dreamin’ My Dreams, Faithfull released the Grammy-nominated Broken English – widely considered her best album.
She later achieved critical acclaim as a jazz and blues singer with 1987’s Strange Weather and went to rehab that same decade.
Faithfull released a total of 21 solo albums throughout her career. Her most recent was the spoken word album She Walks in Beauty from 2021, which saw her work with frequent Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis.
She made a full recovery from breast cancer in 2006, and fell into a coma after catching COVID-19 early in 2020 before recovering.
The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, scooped the third-biggest National Lottery winner ever.
The biggest EuroMillions win by UK players was in 2022 when a single ticket-holder won £195m.
Two months before that, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won a then record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw in May 2022.
A man has been jailed after his XL bully attacked a 12-year-old girl.
Justin Allison, 38, from Ebbw Vale, was sentenced to three years in prison at Newport Crown Court on Wednesday.
The girl was seriously injured and needed hospital treatment, police said.
Allison had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a banned breed without a licence and being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control in a public place. He also admitted a charge of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place.
Officers were called to an address in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, last October to reports a child had been attacked by a dog.
Gwent Police said the dog – later identified as an XL bully – was seized and humanely destroyed by a vet.
The breed was banned in England and Wales from 1 February last year, with the ban later extended to Scotland.
Detective Chief Inspector Virginia Davies said the girl was “viciously attacked” after Allison “failed to keep his dog under control”.
She said the case “should serve as a reminder to all dog owners of the importance of having your dog under control at all times”.
“We take all reports of suspected irresponsible dog ownership seriously and we urge everyone to follow the legislation and guidance to prevent events like this happening in the future,” she added.
Allison was also banned from owning dogs for 10 years.