Kate Makes Girl's Princess Dream Come True

Kate Makes Girl's Princess Dream Come True

The Duchess of Cambridge brought smiles of joy to the face of a little girl with cancer by granting her wish to meet a "princess".

Six-year-old Diamond Marshall, who has a large tumour in her abdomen, flew into Kate's arms when the pair met in Calgary.

The Duchess had touched down at the city's airport with the Duke and hugged the little girl who was with her father Lyall Marshall, 37, and stepmother Danielle, 32. The youngster turned to her parents to collect a bouquet of flowers and after presenting the blooms to Kate, embraced the royal again.

Mrs Marshall said: "Kate was lovely, they were gracious and spent extra time with her. For a little girl who dreams everything princess, it was a dream come true."

Her dream of meeting Kate began after she watched the royal wedding from her hospital bed and her father wrote to the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada asking if his daughter could meet the Duke and Duchess. The organisation worked with the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta to make the wish come true and the family were ushered on to the tarmac at Calgary International airport to meet the royals.

The royal couple later arrived at the Calgary Stampede reception riding on top of a stagecoach to cheers from the crowds. They event was a preview for the rodeo show and festival dubbed the greatest show on earth.

The duke and duchess, wearing the '10 gallon' hats they were presented upon arrival in Calgary in a ceremony known as "white hatting", watched various events of the stampede and William threw a small barrel in a check wagon - the way races are traditionally started.

Their tour of Canada ended on Thursday and in a reception held after the rodeo displays, William summed up his thoughts of his first overseas trip with his wife.

After a dancing display by cowboys and cowgirls in a convention centre, the Duke told the guests: "In 1939, my great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, said of her first tour of Canada with her husband, King George VI, 'Canada made us'. Catherine and I now know very well what she meant.

"Canada has far surpassed all that we were promised. Our promise to Canada is that we shall return."

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