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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Rebecca Russell

Kate Middleton's sweet moment with midwife who delivered Princess Charlotte

The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Cambridge are set to join forces for the first time today when they visit the headquarters of the Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London.

It has been said that the pairing was a request from the "very top" and fans are eager to see how the two popular royals will interact in public.

The engagement will see Kate, who is a patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Princess Anne, who is a patron of the Royal College of Midwives, meet with several members of staff and learn about the improvements to maternal care.

The event today will no doubt draw comparisons to when The Duchess of Cambridge visited the RCOG in 2018 and recognised a very familiar face in the crowd.

Kate hugged Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent after meeting her again at the college (REUTERS)
Professor Dunkley-Bent helped the Duchess deliver one of her children (REUTERS)

Kate, who was seven months pregnant with Prince Louis at the time, spotted Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent - the midwife who had helped to deliver Princess Charlotte when she was born at St Mary's Hospital in 2015 - and gave her an enormous hug.

The Duchess of Cambridge isn't the only royal who grew emotional when she was reunited with her midwife as Sophie, The Countess of Wessex did the same in 2014.

The Countess returned to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey in 2014 to open their new neonatal unit and was visibly emotional as she hugged the Head of Midwifery, Adrienne Price.

Sophie's two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, were both born at the hospital in 2003 and 2007 respectively. She had previously suffered an ectopic pregnancy in 2002 and almost died when she gave birth to her daughter the following year.

(Chris Grieve/Daily Mirror)

In her 36th week of pregnancy, the countess complained of severe internal pains and was admitted to Frimley Park. There, doctors found her to be dangerously ill from blood loss and performed an emergency caesarean.

Sophie almost died from blood loss and was too ill to be moved to be with her baby for six days. When Lady Louise arrived, she weighed only 4lb 9oz, and spent two weeks in intensive care in a specialist neonatal unit at St George's Hospital, South-West London.

During the plaque unveiling, The Countess struggled to fight back the tears and said: "Thank you very much for inviting me here today.

"I want to say well done to everyone for your fundraising, and for all the work you do to help thousands of families - your service is the difference between life and death.

"I know all the staff are really keen to get everything started. It is a great working environment and the results you are having are testament to this investment.

"It has been something really important in my life and so I thank you again for inviting me here today."

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