Princess Kate Breaks Down In Tears As She Shares A Heartbreaking Message About Her Loss: ‘I Can’t Even Find The Words…’
Princess Kate has responded to the sad news that 17-year-old Liz Hatton died yesterday.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid tribute to “brave and humble” Liz Hatton who died this week after battling a rare form of cancer.
The 17-year-old, who died on Wednesday was an inspiring photographer and created a bucket list of events she wanted to capture after being diagnosed with an aggressive desmoplastic small round cell tumour at the start of the year.
Her story reached the ears of the future King and Queen who invited her to take pictures of William at an investiture last month and to join the couple for a private meeting at Windsor Castle afterwards.
A picture of Kate, who completed chemotherapy at the end of the summer, embracing Liz captured the hearts of the nation and led to the youngster being invited to photograph a whole host of A-list events.
The prince and princess said in a personal message shared on their Kensington Palace social media accounts: “We are so sorry to hear that Liz Hatton has sadly passed away.
“It was an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Liz’s parents Vicky and Aaron and her brother Mateo at this unimaginably difficult time. W & C.”
Liz’s mother Vicky Robayna praised her “incredible daughter”, saying “she flew high until the end” as she announced her death on X.
Her death at home in the early hours of Wednesday had left “a gaping Liz-shaped hole in our lives that I am not sure how we will ever fill”, she added.
She asked people to share one of Liz’s photos in tribute, under the hashtag #LizHatton, and also to support the family’s mission to fund research into Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour, a rare and aggressive sarcoma.
A Just Giving page for cancer research has been set up in her memory.
Ms Robayna went on to thank those who fulfilled the teen’s dreams in her final months.
Liz’s final weeks were packed with opportunities to capture celebrities, as she was invited to the premiere of Venom: The Last Dance, the Royal Variety Show, the MTF Europe Music Awards and even joined acclaimed British photographer Rankin to lead a fashion shoot.
Her mother said Liz was able to fulfil her “biggest wish”, spending two days with Los Angeles-based portrait photographer David Suh, who flew from the US to work with her.
The project culminated in her own photography exhibition in London last week, showcasing her work.
Liz has a website dedicated to her photography and details her love for taking snaps from an early age.
It also revealed taking photographs helped the teenager cope with her constant pain.
“Every time she picks up her camera and focuses on new and exciting shoots it helps to distract her from the constant pain that she feels every second of every day,” the site said.
“When taking photographs, the rest of the world doesn’t seem to matter as much.”
