Sarah Ferguson is joined by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie as royals spend time with teenage cancer patients during emotional visit to London hospital

Daily Mail​

23-04-2025

The Duchess of York and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, spent time with teenage cancer patients during an emotional visit to a London hospital on Wednesday.
Their trip to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at London's prestigious University College Hospital comes months after Sarah Ferguson, 65, was given a clean bill of health after receiving back-to-back cancer diagnoses.
The trio spoke to several young patients including Belle Tucker, who surprised Eugenie, 35, with a bouquet of flowers.
She and older sister Beatrice also joined Sarah as she paid a visit to Matthew Pegg, before joining the cancer survivor for a selfie.
The Yorks put on a united front as they arrived at the hospital, with Sarah, Beatrice, and Eugenie all picking understated yet elegant outfits in muted shades.
While Sarah and Beatrice opted to wear black dresses, Eugenie chose a khaki-coloured sating skirt and a cream sweater for the official engagement.
In addition to meeting cancer survivors, they also spoke to several members of staff during the visit that comes one day after the Duchess warned the UK government against neglecting teenagers with cancer in a column for The Times.
Writing in the newspaper, the duchess said health policies which fail to take youngsters with the disease into account can have 'devastating' and 'tragic' consequences.
She reflected on her own double diagnoses, first with breast cancer in the summer of 2023, and then skin cancer last January.
Fergie wrote: 'I have gone through two diagnoses. It's incredibly important to me to seek to amplify the voices and experiences of people with cancer who receive less attention, whose voices are not listened to and who can be overlooked.
'One group consistently neglected by those developing health plans and policies is teenagers and young adults with cancer.
'The impact can be devastating.'
The duchess previously described thinking her own diagnosis was a 'death sentence', saying it felt like a 'bomb going off in your life' and that it took her mind to the 'darkest places'.
She backed the Teenage Cancer Trust's campaign #AndYoungPeople on Wednesday and signed an open letter to the health secretary Wes Streeting asking for teenagers to be considered in the national cancer plan for England.
The duchess, who has been a patron of the charity for many years, wrote: 'As most cases of cancer occur in people over 50, they find themselves in a system that isn't designed with young people in mind and continue to suffer huge disadvantages.'
She also told of speaking to teenagers who had been 'fobbed' off by health professionals despite presenting multiple symptoms, adding: 'The consequences can be tragic.'
The Yorks put on a united front as they arrived at the hospital, with Sarah, Beatrice, and Eugenie all picking understated yet elegant outfits in muted shades
The Department of Health and Social Care launched a call for evidence to help shape a national cancer plan in February.
The blueprint, which is expected later this year, will aim to transform cancer care by improving diagnosis, screening and treatment, as well as bolstering research and looking at ways to help prevent the disease.
Reflecting on her visit to the hospital on Wednesday, Fergie said: 'This is the first chance I've had to visit a unit since my own cancer diagnoses, and meeting young people with cancer is always an incredibly moving experience.
'It's incredibly important to me to try to amplify the voices and experiences of people with cancer who receive less attention, whose voices are not listened to and who can be overlooked.
'The young people receiving care on this unit and their parents are currently under tremendous stress and worry, but I take heart in knowing that the unit and the incredible team working here can provide comfort, care, and hope.'
Princess Beatrice also thought back to when she first visited University College Hospital aged 18 with her mother.
'Sadly, cancer doesn't care if you're young or old and touches so many families in some way,' she said.
'I remember my mother bringing me to this very hospital on my 18th birthday to learn more about Teenage Cancer Trust's work supporting young people, and it had such a huge impact on me.
'To be here again today and meet with young people and their families who are facing such huge challenges is a privilege and an honour. Their resilience in the face of adversity never ceases to amaze.'
Her younger sister Princess Eugenie praised the 'inspiring' hospital staff, who she called 'absolute heroes'.
She said: 'Meeting the nurses and youth support workers on the unit that go above and beyond to make sure that the patients have the best possible experience of treatment is so inspiring – they are absolute heroes.
'Nobody ever wants to find themselves in hospital, but for young people with cancer and their families, units like these - bright welcoming spaces with amazing staff - truly are the best possible place.'
During the visit on Wednesday, the trio met with Lennon Pearson, 18, from Whitham in Essex who was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January.
He said: 'I had been feeling unwell for months, so my GP ordered a blood test. The next day I was rushed to hospital, and I'm starting my 4th cycle of chemo here tomorrow.
'You don't meet Royalty every day and it's good that they are visiting to raise awareness.
'There's a lot of negativity around cancer so trying to stay as positive as you can is important.'
Fergie, Eugenie and Beatrice also met Freddie Debenham, 21, from South East London, who returned to the hospital to share his experiences of going through cancer treatment three times.
He said: 'Cancer sucks more than words can ever express and having three cancer diagnoses in my life sucks even more, but I have always fought through it with determination and resilience, all with the knowledge that for a short while my life will be miserable, but once the treatment is over, I'll be free to return to a normal life.
'Cancer shouldn't stop you from living your life - and support from Teenage Cancer Trust has helped me cope with everything cancer has thrown at me.'
Kate Collins, chief executive at the Teenage Cancer Trust, said teenagers and young adults were 'often overlooked'.
She added: 'There's an opportunity right now for the Government to make a huge difference to the health of a generation - a difference that will have a real impact on their commitment to tackle the biggest killers and build a UK where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.'
Last November, following her battle with breast cancer, the Duchess revealed she was scared about getting the disease 'somewhere else' and admitted to waking up in the night in a panic.
On the ITV show Loose Women, she highlighted the importance of attending mammogram appointments before admitting she was worried about the future.
'And then of course you start four in the morning syndrome,' she told Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan, and Brenda Edwards on the pre-recorded one-off special.
'You know that moment when you suddenly wake up and go 'oh I'm sure I've got cancer somewhere else... I'm going to go and ring my doctor'.'
'I'm getting over that but it's only been a few months since I've had the operation, so I'm just beginning to sit up straight.'
The Duchess went public with her battle against breast cancer in June 2023, and had single mastectomy last year in her bid to beat the disease.
After having a reconstruction on her left breast, she went on morning television where she joked that she 'kind of likes them'.
Showing a grand sense of humour, Sarah told Good Morning Britain presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls in December that she had named her left breast 'Derek'.
Her cancer journey began when a routine test first detected something was seriously wrong before the Coronation.
Sarah attended an appointment in London for a mammogram. Rather than being given the all-clear, as expected, the technician explained that a 'shadow' could be seen in the breast.
Given the size of the area, a lumpectomy was ruled out and Sarah was strongly advised to go ahead with a single mastectomy, which would eradicate the shadow of cancerous cells across the breast.
Sarah was said to be devastated but determined to press ahead with a mastectomy as soon as possible, telling friends she had 'no choice' but to go through with the operation.
She had undergone a gruelling eight-hour operation at King Edward VII Hospital in June following her diagnosis with breast cancer and revealed the moment she knew doctors had found something during her mammogram.
'I could see they moved very quickly,' she said. 'They said 'Well we'll just do another one' then 'Oh we'll just do this' and I was saying 'No no but you haven't found anything have you? No I'm fine aren't I?'.'
'It was like a splat. It was like someone had gone [gestures a splatting action] like that and it was better to have it removed.'
Since the operation, Sarah has exuded positivity and encouraged others to get checked - especially if they are scared.
She said: 'For anyone who is thinking 'I can't possibly do it' because they might find something, the sooner they do find something and remove it, and if they have to remove it as a lumpectomy or a mastectomy or whatever they have to do, it's okay you've got this.
'And it's okay to cry. It's okay to be terrified. It's okay to say 'I really am terrified', but together we can be strong to get through it.'
Just months after being treated for breast cancer, Sarah revealed that she was diagnosed with skin cancer.