Prince and Princess of Wales pay tribute to 'brave' teenage photographer

By India McTaggart

The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid tribute to "brave and humble" teenage photographer Liz Hatton.

The 17-year-old from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, died at home on Wednesday morning (Thursday in Australia) after a battle with desmoplastic small round cell tumour, a rare and aggressive form of cancer with no standard treatment path.

Last month, the teenager was invited to photograph an investiture at Windsor Castle and privately meet with the Prince and Princess, who she was photographed hugging.

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In a statement posted on social media and signed "W&C", they said: "We are so sorry to hear that Liz Hatton has sadly passed away.

"It was an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman. Our thoughts and prayers are with Liz's parents Vicky and Aaron and her brother Mateo at this unimaginably difficult time."

'No-one could have fought harder for life'

The young photographer had spent the last few months of her life fulfilling a bucket list of photography dreams.

Announcing her death on Wednesday night, her mother Vicky Robayna said: "Our incredible daughter Liz died in the early hours of this morning. She remained determined to the last."

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"Even yesterday, she was still making plans. We are so very proud of the kindness, empathy and courage she has shown in the last year," Robayna continued.

"She was not only a phenomenal photographer, she was the best human and the most wonderful daughter and big sister we could ever have asked for.

"No-one could have fought harder for life than she did. There is a gaping Liz-shaped hole in our lives that I am not sure how we will ever fill."

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Liz began her photography bucket list appeal in January after being diagnosed with cancer and given six months to three years to live.

She fulfilled the majority of this list in the last months of her life, including photographing a West End show, hosting a photo shoot of professional models, holding her own photography exhibition and meeting leaders in the field, including the British photographer Rankin.

Liz previously told The Telegraph that she had started the list to show "there's always a bright side" and that despite her terminal cancer diagnosis, she did not want to "sit and be miserable".

The teenager said: "I don't want the people I love to sit and be miserable when I'm gone, I want them to look on the bright side and still be able to smile in darkness."

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In October, she was invited by Prince William to Windsor Castle, where she was granted rare permission to shoot behind-the-scenes pictures of an investiture. Her work was later published by Kensington Palace.

The heir to the throne extended the invitation after hearing about the teenager's bucket list mission through the London Air Ambulance Charity, of which he is patron.

The event was the first time the Princess of Wales, also a keen photographer, had been pictured back at work since finishing her own chemotherapy this (British) summer.

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Speaking to The Telegraph during a photo shoot of professional models – one of her bucket list items – earlier this month, Liz said: "Whenever I do photography, I find it a lot easier to take my mind off things and distract myself from the pain and stuff like that.

"Obviously, living with a terminal illness, there is a lot of pain, a lot of not very great stuff that comes with it, but having other stuff to focus on really helps because you don't have to think about that and you don't end up getting stuck in a rut thinking about it."

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2024