Queen Camilla received a small enamel pin on November 12 to mark 20 years as Royal Trinity Hospice’s patron. The visit to the south London hospice brought her together with people whose work often happens out of sight: a counselor who leads a bereavement group, volunteers tending the garden and community nurses who support people outside the inpatient unit.
The hospice’s account of the visit, published November 13, says Camilla joined its nature therapy bereavement group and stopped by an exercise class for outpatients. The Court Circular confirms the November 12 engagement. Patients and families on the inpatient unit met her privately.
A garden that makes room for grief
Senior counselor Laura Newman started the bereavement group in 2025 and introduced Camilla to five of its members. The hospice also says that some garden volunteers first came to know Trinity when it cared for someone they loved. For those volunteers, tending the garden is a way to remember that person and give their time to the place that supported them.
In its report from the visit, PA highlighted the garden and the Queen’s conversation with people using nature to cope with loss. The hospice’s own account shows how the garden fits into a wider picture: it sits alongside care for patients, support for bereaved families and the work of volunteers.
Two anniversaries behind one small pin
Helen Brewerton, Trinity’s head of specialist community nursing, presented the pin. The hospice says Brewerton is also marking 20 years at Trinity. That detail makes the moment especially fitting: a nurse who has spent two decades with the hospice presented the token to its patron.
See the hospice’s original photos and visit account for a closer look at the day, or return to the Royal Diary for the rest of the week’s confirmed appearances.
Sources: Royal Trinity Hospice · Royal Household Court Circular · PA via The Irish News.
Featured photo: Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, at Hillsborough in Bloom on April 2, 2014. Northern Ireland Office / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; cropped. This is an archive photograph, not the hospice visit.
