Echo captures Royal moment for Isobelle
A tiny tot has a magical memory for life after the Echo caught her meeting the Duchess of Cambridge during the Royal visit to Sunderland.
Our footage captured two-year-old Isobelle Nockles meeting the Duchess twice after the youngster cried for “Princes Kate” to come back to her.
Isobelle, who turns three in a couple of weeks, was with her mum Jemma Rothery in Sunderland City Centre, hoping to catch sight of Kate and Prince William as they arrived at The Fire Station on Wednesday.
William and Kate were in the city to officially open the state-of-the art cultural venue, and to help put the final touches to the new Wear crossing, Northern Spire, which is set to open to the public this spring.
To 33-year-old Jemma’s astonishment, the pair got close enough for little Isobelle to shake Kate’s hand, not once, but twice. Jemma, from Farringdon, said: “I’m actually a massive Royal fan.
“I watch all the documentaries on TV, so when I heard they were coming to the city I wanted my daughter to have the opportunity to see them.
“I never expected us to get so close as there were a lot of people there.
“Isobelle was shouting to Kate to come over and she made eye contact with us.
“She took hold of Isobelle’s hands and said ‘nice to meet you’.
“She moved on to greet somebody else and Isobelle started crying for her and shouted ‘Princess Kate – don’t leave’.
“And even though she was shaking someone else’s hand, she came back to try and comfort her.
“It was great to then see it on the Echo website and to get a copy of it.
“It’s something we’ll always keep.”
Jemma, who is engaged to Isabelle’s dad, Andrew Nockles, 34, a marketing intelligence analyst, said she and Isobelle had waited about an hour when the Royal couple arrived.
She said: “Even the wait was nice. We were all chatting away – it was a lovely atmosphere.
“Her brother Jackson, seven, goes to East Herrington primary, and he was devastated in the morning when he had to go to school.
“But we brought back a flag for him and showed him the photos.”
Despite being a fan of the monarchy, it was also Jemma’s first time meeting a member of the Royal family.
She added: “I was quite nervous when she was in front of us, I didn’t expect her to speak to my daughter.
“I’m still on cloud nine.”
“She cried and shouted ‘Princess Kate – don’t leave’” JEMMA ROTHERY