Last week, Prince William and Kate did a special meeting with a 17-year-old with terminal cancer. Liz Hatton created a bucket list of things she wanted to do in the last year of her life – she’s an aspiring photographer, and several of her bucket list items were about photographing certain events or places. She wanted to photograph an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, and somehow her request made it to Kensington Palace. They arranged for Liz to photograph an investiture hosted by William, then she was invited to one of the Windsor Castle reception rooms, where she and her family got some time with Will and Kate. Everyone made the meeting all about Kate and how Kate was photographed “at work” for the first time in months. But Liz is a special young lady and the Times decided to profile her and let her talk. Some highlights:

Liz Hatton’s bucket list: She says her mother had one rule: no wallowing. Liz, meanwhile, had another: no crying. They had a deal and together drew up a “bucket list” for the aspiring photographer. It included all the things she hoped to see or experience in her short time left — from a desire to photograph the rehearsal of a hit musical to having as many pictures as possible published in magazines. Liz was sceptical: “I told mum the bucket list was useless. Who would ever let me do any of this?”

Meeting Will & Kate: The week has been “crazy” and “insane”, Liz said. The family, who gave the palace permission to release the photograph of Liz and Kate, had no idea they would find themselves at the centre of such a huge story. “The palace staff have been calling us every day to check we’re alright,” Vicky said. “And I say ‘yes’. I’ve honestly never seen Liz as alive as she has been this week.”

Liz is not religious: Liz does not class herself as religious: “I have thought about the afterlife but now I think just see what happens rather than waste time trying to divine the answers,” she says. She did once try out for the cathedral choir in primary school, but wasn’t selected.

How long she has left: The latest advice from her consultant is that “it’s three to four weeks”, she says. When her mother tries to argue that it’s “more like eight to ten weeks”, Liz gives her a weary, indulgent smile and concedes: “yes, hopefully longer”. Liz continues: “It is uncertain how long I have, how long I’ll live. But it is certain that it won’t be for a long time. And so because of that, I feel like the only thing you can do is do as much as possible, as much as possible of what you want to do and what you enjoy. And to spend it with the people you love. And yeah, well, what else can you do? Otherwise, you’d just sit there and be overwhelmed the whole time. And of course, there are those days where you are upset and it’s too much. Be positive, but … most of the time you’ve just got to lift yourself up and be lifted up by the people around you to carry on.”

What she & Kate talked about: Her conversation with the princess stuck to the merits of photography and various lenses and didn’t dwell on either Liz’s cancer, nor the chemotherapy that Kate has recently finished. Liz says they couldn’t have made her feel more relaxed or welcome. They had not thought that they would meet William and Kate, but after photographing the investiture, she was surprised to be invited to a private room to see them with her family.

The castle prepared a lemon drizzle cake: She even had a call from the Windsor Castle kitchens in advance to ask if they could prepare her favourite food. It meant that she not only got to have a private meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales but also had the best lemon drizzle cake she’d ever tasted. Liz said: “When we got there, we were told that the prince would say a quick hello. So I thought, okay, you’d be like, ‘Hi’, and then that would be it. But then we were sitting in the little area on the sofa, and then all of a sudden they just walk in and we were like, ‘Oh!’ I felt very honoured.”

[From The Times]

This really broke my heart. I didn’t realize this little girl had so little time left. She told the Times that she stopped chemo a few months ago because she knew it wouldn’t make a difference at this point, so she’s just enjoying her final weeks and taking her pain meds. Apparently, her story was already making the rounds and several British celebrities had already invited her to various events and tapings before the palace found out. I’m glad that so many people are stepping up to make sure that she has a wonderful time. I’ll say something nice about Kate: it was great that she kept the conversation about lenses and photography. I’m sure Liz was so excited to talk about her photography passion, rather than have a depressing conversation about her cancer. Also: no crying or wallowing? Jesus, let her cry and wallow a little bit!!

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace & ITV.