FAMILY FOCUS
Christmas party in grounds of Cambridges’ home honours service personnel separated from loved ones
The Duchess of Cambridge hosted a Christmas party for families and children of service men and women serving in Cyprus. The function for loved ones of RAF Coningsby and RAF Marham personnel took place at Kensington Palace, London, yesterday.
THE SNOW was artificial but the sentiment had come from the heart.
As children played in a makeshift grotto and tried their hand at making crackers, their parents and grandparents hung on their hostess’s every word.
She could not imagine the emotions they felt, as families of serving military personnel at this time of year, the Duchess of Cambridge said.
In fact, she did have an inkling. She had been separated from her husband, Prince William, a former RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot, when he went to the Falklands for six weeks in 2012.
It was, perhaps, that experience which inspired the pair of them to host yesterday’s party for more than 200 wives, girlfriends, parents and grandparents in the grounds of their home, Kensington Palace in central London.
“As someone whose husband served, I know how hard it feels when a loved one leaves home to do the job they trained for,” Kate told her guests.
“But I can’t imagine how it feels when your loved ones are away on active service over Christmas.
“The absence of people you love must be especially hard at this time of year. William and I, however, hope that today shows, in some small way, how much you are all valued.”
She added: “Not only are we grateful for you coming here to join our party, but also for the sacrifices you make on a daily basis on behalf of the nation.
“We should never forget our military families and all the service you do for us all.”
She and William had arrived at the party to a chorus of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a shower of foam snow and a hail of soft, artificial snowballs. Kate wore a black cashmere Brora top and a seasonal, Tartan skirt by Emilia Wickstead; her husband was in jeans and a blue sweater.
Today, they will fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to meet servicemen and women, including some whose relatives had been their guests.
They were all relatives of personnel from RAF Coningsby and RAF Marham, who are serving in Cyprus.
William is Honorary Air Commandant at Coningsby, south of Lincoln, which is home to Typhoon squadrons that deploy to Cyprus and fly operations in support of Op Shader, the UK’s contribution to the ongoing campaign against Islamic State. They work alongside 31 Squadron, a Tornado GR4 unit based at Marham in Norfolk, which is also involved with the campaign.
Among the guests to whom the Duchess chatted yesterday were Barrie and Ann Macdonald from Manchester, who are looking after their five-yearold grandson, Harry, while his parents are overseas. Their daughter, Claire O’Grady, and her husband Paul, are both RAF Wing Commanders.
Mrs Macdonald said: “Kate was asking Harry where his mummy and daddy were and she said to me it’s quite a commitment, but it was great for the family to have us pulling everything together.
“William said he’d remember Harry’s name and mention him to his dad when he saw him in Cyprus.”
Her husband said: “We see our main function as giving my daughter and her husband peace of mind. They’ve got an important job to do and they don’t have time to worry about their son.”
There will be 11,000 sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines deployed on operations over Christmas. Service personnel have been sent on 30 operations in 35 countries across the globe.