The Duchess of Cambridge has finally met a five-year-old cancer patient who appeared in her ‘Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation’ project.
The 39-year-old royal had tea with Mila Sneddon – who was pictured kissing her dad through a window last year during the coronavirus pandemic – at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on Thursday (27.05.21) and they fulfilled a promise they’d made in a phone call several months ago as they both wore pink dresses, which is the youngster’s favourite colour.
Mila – who had intensive chemotherapy for leukaemia and had to shield during the height of the global health crisis – wore matching pink shoes and a crown, and they were both delighted to spend time together after speaking on the phone.
As she walked into the room, Catherine said: “Hi Mila, look at you. I want to give you a big, squeezy cuddle. It’s so nice to meet you in person.”
The youngster, her sister Jodi and their parents – Scott and Lynda Sneddon – all stood up to greet the duchess.
The royal added: “I love your dress, can you do a little twirl? And your shoes.”
Earlier this month, Catherine’s phone call with Mila and Lynda from last autumn was released on hers YouTube channel with Prince Harry.
Mila started the call: “Good moring, your Royal Highness.”
The duchess replied: “Good morning. Goodness me, you’re so polite Mila.”
During their chat, the youngster – who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – revealed how much she loved walking her dog and the colour pink, which led to Catherine promising to wear a dress of that colour if they met.
She said at the time: “I’ll have to make sure I try and find a pink dress. Hopefully when, one day, hopefully, Mila, we’ll get to meet and then I’ll wear remember to wear my pink dress for you.”
Earlier in the pandemic, the family decided to isolate separately to minimise the risk to their daughter’s health, which meant Scott and Jodi moved in with Lynda’s parents.
The photo of them kissing through the window was taken the first day they were apart, and Mila explained: “He had to look after me because I went for a treatment… When he came [back] into the house I was so surprised.”