During the visit to the Keech Hospice, the Duchess of Cambridge made her own emotional connection with the bereaved when she gave a hug to a six-year-old boy who lost his eldest brother two years ago. “I love cuddles,” she said.
It came after she and William were given “memory jars” – bottles full of coloured sand, which are used as a tool by the hospice pre-and post-bereavement to help patients and their families.
The jars were presented by Jamie Coniam, 10, and his brother Ethan, six, from Flitwick, Bedfordshire, whose brother Kieran died at the hospice aged 10 in October 2014. He had been born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism, and suffered with health problems all his life.
The boys’ mother Fiona, 40, a palliative care nurse, said: “Ethan said, ‘Excuse me Kate, can I have hug?’ She said, ‘Yes of course – I love cuddles.’ Then she asked Jamie if he would like a hug as well.”
Jamie said: “My little brother asked for a hug, and I got one out of the blue.”