Kate Middleton Honours Local Hospices Through Princess Charlotte's Christening

The Duchess of Cambridge has decided to honour hospices through her daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana’s christening. Flowers meant for the little princess’ baptism service at St. Mary Magdalene Church will instead be donated to charity.

Flowers sent by well-wishers for Princess Charlotte has started to pool in ahead of the royal baby’s christening on Sunday, July 5. Instead of using them for her daughter’s baptism service, Kate Middleton has asked that they be given to East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH). According to Hello Magazine, the Duchess of Cambridge has been a loyal supporter of the charity since January 2012.

Graham Butland, Chief Executive of East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) said the charity was “honoured” by the duchess’ kind gesture. "The flowers will be delivered to our hospices for our families, volunteers and staff to enjoy," he said.

Kate Middleton reportedly has a soft spot for the hospice charity since she became patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) in 2012. Even while still seven months pregnant with Princess Charlotte, she had visited Emma Bridgewater, a pottery factory that makes mugs to raise funds for the hospice based in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex. The Duchess of Cambridge could be seen in this photo shared by the site hand-painting one of the mugs. Emma Bridgewater has reportedly been making mugs and selling them to raise funds for local hospices.

The hospice movement is reportedly close to the Duchess of Cambridge’s heart. According to US Weekly, she was even brought to tears during an event in November after talking and meeting to a mother who had lost her child. The child was reportedly under the care of one of EACH’s hospice before the child’s death.

Even days after giving birth to Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana on May 2, Kate Middleton had also thought of the charity when she penned an emotional letter calling for support for the local hospices. The duchess sent an open letter in behalf of the Children’s Hospice Week to explain the importance of the week-long event.

The Duchess of Cambridge had called for support for the children’s hospices that “strive to create happy moments in the most difficult times any family could face.” Kate Middleton had urged people for support and wrote, “I hope you will join me in supporting Children’s Hospice Week and work to make every moment count for all of our families.”

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