A dad has said his late wife and son would be “beaming with pride” as the Duchess of Rothesay gave their charity the Royal seal of approval.
Hamish Hey died from cancer in 2017, aged just eight.
His parents Sam and Susan, and sister Lily, set up Team Hamish to create play areas around their hometown of Nairn in his memory, incorporating one his favourite things: rainbows.
Tragically, Mrs Hey never got to see Hamish’s Splashpad completed, as she lost her own battle with cancer last year.
But today, Mr Hey and Lily were delighted to welcome the Duchess of Rothesay to the play area by the beach and explain more about their work.
Mr Hey was also presented with a BEM – awarded in the New Year’s Honours – by Lord Lieutenant of Nairnshire George Asher, while Lily accepted her mother’s one posthumously.
‘Thank you for your continued love and support’
As the water within the splash pad erupted, much to the delight of the school children who had come to witness the event, Mr Hey thanked the community for backing Team Hamish’s journey.
He said: “It is so wonderful to see so many gathered for such a momentous, yet quite emotional occasion.
“I want to thank you all for your continued love, support and believing in our vision.
“I am filled with pride at what we as a community can achieve together.”
He said that he knew his son and wife would be watching over the ceremony, “beaming with pride.”
After hearing of all the fundraising effort involved, the duchess said she was “impressed by the community” she saw in Nairn.
Hamish’s grandparents, Liz and Danny Bow, were also front and centre at the event and were thrilled to report it’s already proving popular with visitors of all ages.
After the official ceremony, Camilla – who was wearing a dark green dress by Fiona Clare and a cream Burberry coat – took unscheduled time to talk to locals, joking with children from Rosebank Primary “have you managed to escape from school today?”
Environmental charity presented with Queen’s Award
During her trip – who is known for her love of literature – also visited Nairn Community Centre, currently home to the Nairn Book and Arts Festival.
While chatting to local poetry group Women in the Highlands she expressed her love for Carol Ann Duffy, and started a round of applause when one of the members read some of her own work entitled 2020 – The Year That.
She was met with laughs of agreement when she was finally able to remove her mask and exclaimed “we can all breathe again.”
The duchess also spoke to author Cal Flyn about her new book and was pleased to discover they had joint links to Stroma in Orkney.
She said: “My husband always paints Stroma, it inspires him.”
Her Royal Highness spoke to members of the festival committee, local book group, community centre staff and Sandy Stoddard, the Queen’s sculptor.
Also at the centre were representatives from Green Hive, an environmental charity based in Nairn that upcycles plastics into new products.
The charity was recently awarded the Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service, which was presented today by Mr Asher.
Chief executive Neil Mapes spoke of how much the visit from the duchess meant to the group.
He said: “There are loads of volunteers who have dedicated hundreds of hours to what we do.
“To get someone like the Duchess of Rothsay coming to visit, thanking you for doing what you’re doing, that’s huge.
“A lot of people take volunteers for granted, but to have her physically here, in sight, have that recognition, all these things matter.”