Princess Kate has reunited with the family of the late teenage photographer Liz Hatton - who she had previously shared tea with at Windsor Castle - at a Buckingham Palace garden party of Tuesday evening.
The 43-year-old royal met with Hatton's loved ones, who died of a rare form of cancer on November 27 last year.
In January 2024 the talented teenager was diagnosed with an aggressive desmoplastic small round cell tumour.
During Tuesday’s engagement, Kate chatted with Hatton’s mother Vicky Robayna, her stepfather Aaron and her younger brother, Mateo.
Kate was reunited with the family of Liz Hatton at the Buckingham Palace garden party
PA
Hatton's family have recently set up the Capture in her honour which supports those with Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour.
Before her death, Hatton had compiled an inspirational "bucket list" of assignments to complete in the last months of her life, which reached the ears of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
She was invited by William and Kate to Windsor Castle to photograph an investiture the Prince of Wales was holding and, to her surprise, asked to have tea with the couple afterwards.
Kate, who has battled her own cancer journey last year, was pictured giving Hatton an emotional hug, with the pair focusing on their shared love of photography.
Kate met with Hatton's mother Vicky Robayna, her stepfather Aaron and her younger brother, Mateo
PA
Speaking to GB News, Hatton's mother and younger brother revealed that that the Prince and Princess of Wales “regularly reached out” to them with "incredible" support.
Mateo said: "They've reached out a lot to us. They reached out to us a lot since we met them, they've helped us do pretty much all of the things we've done since then, we wouldn't have had those last 12 weeks without them."
Vicky added: “They've been really, really kind, and their team are still in touch regularly with us. We went to the Carol Concert in December, just after Liz had died and they've been incredible, really, really incredible.
"We are well aware that without their support during those last 12 weeks of Liz's life, and the media taking up her story in the way that they did, she wouldn't have had anywhere near the incredible amount of opportunities that she had.
"And we're incredibly grateful for that, and we'll always be incredibly grateful for that.
Liz Hatton had previously met with Kate and William before her tragic death last year
Instagram: Kensington Palace
Mateo said it had been a “complete shock” when he saw his older sister listed as an inspiration for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
"It was a complete, utter shock," Vicky agreed.
"It’s so lovely of them to keep remembering her. They've done so much for us as a family already, and to still be thinking of her and remembering her means the world to us all," she added.
Vicky explained that the family had been in London attending the Excel’s Photography and Videography Show 2025, which hosted a display of Liz’s photos, when they received the news that the Prince and Princess posted Liz for International Women’s Day.
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The Princess of Wales spoke with the family among other guests
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At the event, Kate and William also met with guests from several of their patronages, passion projects and military affiliations.
Among the groups represented was the royal couple's homeless charity Homewards, one of Kate’s patron non-profit's Action for Children and Welsh children’s hospice Ty Hafan.
Another notable guest was 89-year-old Holocaust survivor Steven Frank.
Kate had previously photographed Frank in 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.
She had previously reunited with him during Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations in January of this year.
