William and Kate pay tribute to ‘brave and humble’ young photographer Liz Hatton

The Prince and Princess of Wales have expressed their sadness at the death of teenage photographer Liz Hatton, saying it was “an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman”.

The 17-year-old, who died on Wednesday, pursued a photography bucket list after being diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer at the start of the year.

Liz, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, hit the headlines when she was pictured being hugged by Kate at Windsor Castle in October after being invited to take pictures of William at an investiture.

William and Kate, who herself was treated for cancer this year, said in a personal message shared on their Kensington Palace social media accounts: “We are so sorry to hear that Liz Hatton has sadly passed away.

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“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.”

The message was signed “W & C”.

Liz’s mother Vicky Robayna praised her “incredible daughter”, saying “she flew high until the end” as she announced her death on X.

Her death at home in the early hours of Wednesday had left “a gaping Liz-shaped hole in our lives that I am not sure how we will ever fill”, she added.

She asked people to share one of Liz’s photos in tribute, under the hashtag #LizHatton, and also to support the family’s mission to fund research into Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour, a rare and aggressive sarcoma.

Ms Robayna has set up a fundraising page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/vicky-robayna with a goal of raising £100,000, with donations currently being taken at Liz’s previous fundraising page, with a link to this on the new campaign.

As part of her bucket list, Liz went on to photograph comedian Michael McIntyre, circus performers, the Royal Ballet, models from the Storm Model Agency, London Air Ambulances from a helipad, hotel doormen, the red carpet at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and joined acclaimed British photographer Rankin to lead a fashion shoot.

She fulfilled what her mother described as her “biggest wish”, spending two days with Los Angeles-based portrait photographer David Suh, who flew from the US to work with her.

The project culminated in her own photography exhibition in London this month, showcasing her work.

Ms Robayna said on X at the time: “Liz had her very own exhibition last week, the perfect culmination of her incredible achievements.

“As I walked around looking at her pictures, thinking about the circumstances many were taken under, I was more in awe of her than ever.”

But Ms Robayna also revealed two days ago how Liz had become increasingly tired and how they were due to be celebrating Christmas early as a family at the end of this week, adding: “We know our time is short now.”

Former Harrogate Grammar School student Liz launched her own website devoted to her photography.

It tells of how she began taking photographs as soon as she could walk, saved to buy her first “real” camera aged nine and, at 11, chose her secondary school because they offered photography as a course.

She took GCSE photography and began her A-level to refine her skill.

Taking photographs also helped Liz cope with her constant pain.

“Every time she picks up her camera and focuses on new and exciting shoots it helps to distract her from the constant pain that she feels every second of every day,” the site said.

“When taking photographs, the rest of the world doesn’t seem to matter as much.”