Princess Beatrice 'devastated' following sad news from one of her charity patronages

Princess Beatrice
(Image credit: SIPA USA/PA Images)

Princess Beatrice is likely to be feeling gutted at the moment, as some very sad news has been announced about one of her charity patronages.

Hello! magazine reports that Grace's Place, a children's hospice in Bury, greater Manchester, was set to open on Friday 5th July, but now won't be due to not raising enough money - and a lack of funding from the NHS.

This year, the hospice raised just a fraction of the £2 million it needs to operate, forcing it to close down.

Beatrice, Prince Andrew's oldest daughter, has been patron of the charity for a few years now, and it's said that she is 'devastated' about the news.

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In 2017, the hospice was taken over by the charity Forget Me Not, a children's hospice organisation which services the West Yorkshire and North Manchester area.

And so it was Forget Me Not that announced the closure of Grace's Place, on their social media platforms.

The statement read, "It is with deep regret that we have to announce that we have begun a consultation with our staff on a proposal to cease offering services from our children's hospice facility at Grace's Place in Bury.

"Despite the tremendous goodwill and support Grace's Place has received from the local community, the costs of providing high-quality care are rising and exceed the funds we are able to raise."

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Princess Beatrice became royal patron of Forget Me Not back in 2013, opening a new building for one of the hospices at the time.

Whilst there, she said, "With all of your support I know this place can really be the pinnacle of child care, it's a huge honour to be here today."

So it's likely devastating news for the Princess today to hear that Grace's Place won't be able to help children in need and their families, at least for the foreseeable future.

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.