Queen Camilla Meets Bereaved Families at Clapham Hospice
Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, has visited the Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham, South London, where she spent time with people grieving the loss of loved ones. Hello! magazine reported the visit on 12 November 2026.
The Queen has been patron of the hospice since 2006. A patron is a figurehead who lends their name and support to a charity. A hospice is a care centre for people with terminal illness, and it also supports their families.
During the visit, the Queen met members of the hospice's Nature Bereavement Group. The group is for people who have lost someone close to them. It runs five sessions. One includes a walk on Clapham Common, and another involves collecting flowers and leaves to fill a jar that stands for grief.
Volunteer Philip Hunter told the Queen that he had lost his wife, Hermione, to pancreatic cancer in April. According to Hello!, the Queen replied, "I'm so sorry."
Another volunteer, Paul Oliver, spoke about his wife, Loretta. She was 50 when she died of ovarian cancer at the hospice in 2013. Her cancer had been diagnosed late, Hello! reported.
Hello! described the visit as an emotional one.
For anyone who has lost someone, the story shows how a hospice can keep a grieving family connected to others who understand. The group's walks and its jar of leaves give people a simple, practical way to talk about loss without having to start with words.
Hospices in England rely on a mix of NHS funding and charitable donations. Royal patronage can help a charity raise its profile, though it does not pay for services. Anyone wanting to support the Royal Trinity Hospice can find details of its fundraising and volunteering on its own website.
