I feared for career says royal harpist hit by ME

JUST when she seemed to have the world at her feet – or at least her fingertips – musician Claire Jones was struck down with ME.

Two years after playing for Prince William and Kate at their wedding reception and months after topping the classical album charts, the harpist began to suffer ‘bone-sapping’ fatigue. She dismissed her symptoms as temporary exhaustion caused by her hectic schedule but in May 2013 developed excruciating pain throughout her body.

She also suffered migraines, dizziness and digestion problems. But doctors merely gave her painkillers and told her to rest. In desperation her husband, fellow musician Chris Marshall – whom she had married the previous year – took her to A&E, where Miss Jones suffered a seizure.

Fortunately she was seen by a sympathetic consultant who diagnosed ME. She returned to her family home in Wales to be nursed by her mother.

‘My tiredness and pain was so bad that I couldn’t even wash and was bed-bound for three months,’ the 30-year-old said yesterday. ‘It was like being a child again.’

She feared she may never play the harp again but after a regime that included changing her diet and taking up yoga, she is on the mend and has just released an album, Journey: Harp To Soothe The Soul, containing many of the songs that helped in her recovery.