Princess Eugenie and Sarah, Duchess of York visit teenage cancer unit in Liverpool

Princess Eugenie was joined by her mother on Wednesday afternoon as they visited Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Eugenie, and Sarah, Duchess of York, visited the hospital to meet with staff and patients who are being treated in the Teenage Cancer Trust’s specialist unit.

The specialist unit, which was opened in 2015, is celebrating its second birthday today, and the eighth-in-line to the throne was on hand to join in the celebrations.

Both the Duchess and Princess of York are Patrons of the Teenage Cancer Trust which works to help provide life-changing treatment for teenagers with cancer.

Currently, the trust has 28 cancer units based in hospitals across the UK.

Photo Credit: Teenage Cancer Trust

The Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Alder Hey is for 13-19-year-olds with cancer, and has four in-patient beds as well two day care bays.

Originally opened in 2003 at the old Alder Hey Children’s Hospital site, Teenage Cancer Trust provided £270k to help enhance a dedicated teenage and young adult facility within the new hospital’s oncology unit in 2015.

Sarah, Duchess of York, is a long-standing supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust and officially opened their first specialist cancer unit back in 1990. Since then she has attended almost all of their 28 subsequent new unit openings across the UK.

According to the trust’s website, Sarah has been ‘instrumental in raising awareness’ of the issues young people with cancer face and has met thousands of young people in her time working with the charity.

Photo Credit: Teenage Cancer Trust

Sarah, Duchess of York, said: “I’ve been a proud supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust since day one when they opened their first unit at the old Middlesex Hospital in London, and have seen first-hand the significant difference these units, and the incredible staff, make to young people’s lives.

Every young person with cancer should have access to this specialist support, and we have ambitious plans to achieve this. It was a pleasure meeting so many inspiring young people at Alder Hey today.”

Princess Eugenie and her sister, Princess Beatrice, were introduced to the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust by their mother, and they often accompany her on visits to hospitals.

In June 2016, the York sisters were made Honorary Patrons and they have visited many Teenage Cancer Trust units, including of the Great North Children’s Hospital in 2010, The Royal Marsden Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, both in in 2012, and UCLH on Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday.

Louise Shepherd, Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, said: “It was an honour to welcome the Duchess of York and HRH Princess Eugenie to join in the celebrations here at Alder Hey and meet some of our young patients. Alder Hey is a Centre of Excellence for treating children and young people with cancer and we are extremely proud of the facilities in our new hospital ‘Alder Hey in the Park’.

“We are very grateful to the Teenage Cancer Trust for their generous support. This has enabled us to make vital enhancements to the teenage area of our Oncology Unit, creating a state-of-the-art facility specifically designed for young people.”

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is located in the suburb of West Derby in the city of Liverpool and is one of the largest children’s hospitals in Europe.