Little girl who met Kate while being treated for cancer urges Princess ‘fight like I did’: Eight-year-old Mila tells Princess ‘you will be brave because I was’ after royal supported her during her own battle
The little girl who stole the Princess of Wales’s heart during her own cancer battle has sent her a heartwarming message to urge Kate to ‘fight like I did’.
Mila Sneddon, 8, from Falkirk, Scotland, was ‘deeply saddened’ by the Princess’ shock diagnosis and has issued her own rallying cry to Kate saying ‘you will be brave because I was’.
The schoolgirl won the Princess of Wales’s heart after a photo of her in isolation while having treatment for leukaemia went viral during the Covid pandemic.
Kate, 42, met Mila twice after she spotted an image of the little girl gazing at her father through a window in March 2020.
The Princess of Wales even sent the eight-year-old a handwritten note after she was given the all-clear from the disease two years ago. They met twice in 2021 – once at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh for tea where Kate kept her promise to wear Mila’s favourite colour, pink.
Mila Sneddon, 8, from Falkirk, Scotland, was ‘deeply saddened’ by the Princess’ shock diagnosis and his issued her own rallying cry to Kate
They met twice in 2021 – once at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh (pictured) for tea where Kate kept her promise to wear Mila’s favourite colour, pink.
And then at Westminster Abbey for the Christmas Concert, where Mila was invited to read a prayer.
Mila has now sent her own message in support to her ‘best friend’ Kate as she told the Sunday Mail: ‘You will be brave because I was and you will fight it like I did.’
The Princess and Mila struck up a friendship when the little girl was photographed kissing her father through a window as she shielded while undergoing intensive chemotherapy for leukaemia during lockdown.
The photograph, titled Shielding Mila, was taken by her mother Lynda and was one of the 100 images included in Kate’s book Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020.
Mila was separated from her father during the first lockdown because he had to keep working and could not risk bringing Covid-19 into the family home.
Kate and Mila spoke on the phone after the image was among 100 selected for the Hold Still exhibition and book.
During the sweet conversation, Mila began the call by saying: ‘Good morning, Your Royal Highness,’ prompting Kate to respond: ‘Good morning. Goodness me, you’re so polite Mila.’
Mila excitedly told Kate that she enjoys walking her dog, knows the names of all her and William’s children and likes the colour pink – prompting the Princess to promise she will wear a pink dress if they were to meet.
Mila with Kate at Westminster Abbey for the Christmas Concert in 2021, where the little girl was invited to read a prayer
Kate sent Mila a ‘beautifully’ handwritten letter when she was declared cancer-free which her mother, Lynda, said was ‘such a lovely gesture’
Mila speaks to Prince William and Catherine as she and her family attend a Beating Retreat by The Massed Pipes and Drums of the Combined Cadet Force in Scotland as special guests
When they met, Kate told the youngster she wanted to give her a ‘big squeezy cuddle’
Kate and Mila spoke on the phone after the image was among 100 selected for the Hold Still exhibition and book
The Princess kept to her promise when she welcomed Mila for tea at Holyroodhouse in 2022 with them both wearing pink dresses.
When they met, Kate told the youngster she wanted to give her a ‘big squeezy cuddle’.
Kate sent Mila a ‘beautifully’ handwritten letter when she was declared cancer-free which her mother, Lynda, said was ‘such a lovely gesture’.
The schoolgirl is now reported to be planning to make a get-well card to wish Kate a speedy recovery.
Lynda, 40, said Kate’s announcement on Friday that she was undergoing a course of ‘preventative chemotherapy’ had come on the two-year anniversary of Mila being in remission.
Mrs Sneddon told the Sunday Mirror: ‘We were shopping when we heard the news. Mila turned to me and told me she wanted to make and send Kate a card. So Mila will make contact in her own private way.
‘Kate showed Mila such compassion, care and support both during and post treatment. So it’s been very emotional to see she is now facing her own health struggles.’
She continued: ‘Cancer is like a community and a club that no one wants to be in.
The Princess and Mila struck up a friendship when the little girl was photographed kissing her father through a window as she shielded while undergoing intensive chemotherapy for leukaemia during lockdown
When the pandemic hit, parents Lynda and Scott decided to isolate separately to minimise the risk to their daughter. Pictured, Scott and Mila’s tearful reunion
‘We are very sad to hear she has joined the club but the Sneddons are completely behind her and we wish her the very best.
‘We have nothing but admiration for her to have been able to come out and publicly tell her story.’
Kate’s type of cancer has not been disclosed, but in her statement the princess stressed she is ‘well and getting stronger every day’.
Both she and the Prince of Wales are said to be ‘enormously touched’ and ‘extremely moved’ by the public’s warmth and support following the announcement.
