The Duke and Duchess of Sussex honour remarkable children with exceptional health needs at WellChild Awards
A host of celebrities recognised the courage of children and young people with exceptional health needs at the prestigious national 2019 WellChild Awards, in association with GSK, tonight at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
Also honoured at the prestigious star-studded ceremony run by WellChild, are dedicated doctors, nurses, volunteers, brothers and sisters who have gone the extra mile to make a difference to the lives of seriously ill children, young people and their families.
The high profile Awards ceremony was attended by many of WellChild’s celebrity supporters as well as WellChild’s Patron HRH The Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Sussex.
"It has been over a decade since I first came to these Awards and every year they never fail to surprise and inspire me. Yet this year, it resonates in a different way, because now I’m a father."
“Last year when my wife and I attended we knew we were expecting our first child – no one else did at the time, but we did – and I remember squeezing Meghan’s hand so tight during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time. And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.” – The Duke of Sussex.
With hundreds of nominations received from across the country, the difficult job of choosing winners in all WellChild Award categories is given, each year, to an esteemed panel of judges. That panel consists of leading health professionals and others with an interest in children’s health and includes children and young people who face serious illness themselves.
WellChild’s Director of Programmes, Tara Parker, a member of the judging panel, said: “It is a tremendous challenge to select winners from the many, many truly amazing nominations we receive from all over the country. All the panel members are moved by the bravery of the children, the stories of selfless care and support and the dedication of the doctors, nurses, teachers, brothers and sisters who make a great difference to the lives of seriously ill children and young people.
“The Awards, in association with GSK, are a perfect demonstration of WellChild’s commitment to helping as many seriously ill children and their families as we can and embody our aim of raising awareness of the needs of this growing population.”
At this star-studded event the winners met a host of WellChild celebrity supporters, who attend each year to celebrate the courage of brave children and honour the dedicated work of the country’s health professionals. In addition to TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex the WellChild Awards was also attended by Tan France, Radzi Chinyanganya, Gaby Roslin, Duncan Bannatyne, Dr Ranj and many more. Pixie Lott also performed for the guests.
A huge thank you goes to our headline sponsor GSK and all our category sponsors and supporters. Special thanks also go to EC Awards who kindly donated all of the WellChild Awards this year and to Total Merchandise for donating the wristbands worn by our guests.
