The Queen makes a heartwarming surprise visit alongside Princess Anne

The Queen made a poignant appearance with Princess Anne at Thames Hospice

The Queen makes a heartwarming visit, Queen Elizabeth II smiles during a visit to officially open the new building at Thames Hospice on July 15, 2022 in Maidenhead, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images / Kirsty O'Connor-WPA Pool)

The Queen made a surprise visit alongside her daughter, Princess Anne for a poignant appearance at Thames Hospice.


The Queen has put fears about her health to rest, as she made a surprise, poignant visit to officially open the new building at Thames Hospice, alongside her daughter Princess Anne.

Her Majesty looked lovely, wearing a blue and white floral dress and walking with her walking stick - which was actually gifted to her by the British Army. While Princess Anne opted for a yellow striped dress, as they arrived to officially open the new premises for the Hospice, in Maidenhead.

Queen Elizabeth II speaks to people during a visit to officially open the new building at Thames Hospice on July 15, 2022 in Maidenhead, England

(Image credit: Getty Images / Kirsty O'Connor-WPA Pool)

This comes after the Queen awarded the George Cross to the NHS, in a lovely gesture to recognize the service's “acts of the greatest heroism.”

The pair received a warm welcome as they were introduced to staff and volunteers, before being given a tour of the new building. 

Thames Hospice offers palliative and end-of-life care for patients, as well as nursing and therapeutic support for the families of patients.

Queen Elizabeth II unveils a plaque during a visit to officially open the new building at Thames Hospice on July 15, 2022 in Maidenhead, England.

(Image credit: Getty Images / Kirsty O'Connor-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

In one particularly heartwarming moment, the Monarch was introduced to a patient, with whom she chatted and shook hands, before then unveiling a special plaque and signing the visitor's book.

Just as the monarch was introduced to Graham White and his wife Pat, who has stage 4 cancer and is receiving respite care at the centre in Maidenhead, his phone rang.

As he reached to turn the device off, the Queen joked, "Typical, a phone goes off immediately" to which Mr White reluctantly revealed it was his son ringing.

Mrs White sat as she chatted to the Queen and afterwards the 63-year-old described the encounter as 'very emotional'. She added, "This is a memory that I will treasure.'

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According to the MailOnline, Mrs White joked about her husband's phone ringing, "I could have killed him! People think the Queen is all stiff upper lip but she has a sense of humour," she explained.

Mr White, 67, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, added, "I turned my wife's phone off and I could have sworn mine was off - that was a bit embarrassing."

This lovely outing came after fans voiced their fears about how ‘frail’ the Queen was looking, after suffering from ongoing ‘mobility issues.’ It is thought that her majesty is taking steps to become a more ‘virtual Queen’ - however she pulled out all the stops during Holyrood Week, delighting fans with her daily outings. 

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.