FAREWELL PRINCESS
Brave five-year-old ‘bride’ gets a fairytale send-off
A BRAVE five-year-old who fulfilled her dream of “marrying” her best friend had a funeral fit for a princess yesterday.
Eileidh Paterson touched the hearts of people worldwide with the emotional ceremony last month.
Yesterday, mourners at her funeral wore the same princess and superhero costumes seen when she walked up the aisle with Harrison Grier, six.
And a horse-drawn carriage took the courageous youngster on her final journey through the streets of Aberdeen in a bright pink coffin.
The cortege was led by a cavalcade of about 30 motorcycles, followed by a bright pink lorry covered in images of popular children’s characters.
Pop tunes blared from the truck, which had “Eileidh” registration plates added for the occasion.
The story of how Eileidh – who had the childhood cancer neuroblastoma – put a wedding at the top of her bucket list after being told she was dying went around the world. She died on July 1, three years after the disease was diagnosed.
Eileidh’s family, from Forres, Moray, wanted yesterday’s service to reflect the bubbly youngster’s personality.
Her sister Cerys, 13, read a poem with the line “we’re sisters for life” and there were many tributes from those who knew her – too many for them all to be read out.
One came from nurses at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, who described her as “very bossy but always in a good way”.
Celebrant Susan Newman said: “It was a very emotional day with a lot of tears but a lot of laughs too. She definitely got a princess send-off.”
Harrison and other young friends did not attend the service at Aberdeen Crematorium but joined mourners for a princess party later at a nearby hotel.
Zara Grant, 32, of children’s entertainment company Love Rara, organised both the “wedding” and the funeral.
She said: “When Eileidh’s mum Gail came to me she wanted to recreate much of the beautiful wedding we held only a few weeks before.
“Eileidh was a character. She knew what she wanted and was very cheeky, bubbly and vibrant.
“I was lucky to be there for the good times. I will never forget the look of joy on her face when she was getting married to Harrison.
“It’s hard to say goodbye after such a short amount of time.”