William and Kate pay emotional tribute to 'brave' young photographer Liz Hatton following tragic death

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Prince and Princess of Wales have shared their deep sorrow over the passing of teenage photographer Liz Hatton, describing it as "an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman".

The 17-year-old from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, who passed away on Wednesday, had been fulfilling her photography bucket list after being diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer earlier in the year.Liz made headlines when she was embraced by Kate at Windsor Castle in October, having been invited to photograph William during an investiture ceremony.

William and Kate, with Kate herself having undergone cancer treatment this year, conveyed their condolences in a heartfelt message on their Kensington Palace social media accounts: "We are so sorry to hear that Liz Hatton has sadly passed away."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 personal note concluded with the initials "W & C".Liz's mother, Vicky Robayna, paid tribute to her "incredible daughter" who "she flew high until the end", as she announced the tragic news.

She spoke of the "a gaping Liz-shaped hole in our lives that I am not sure how we will ever fill" following her daughter's death at home in the early hours of Wednesday.Vicky encouraged people to share one of Liz’s photos in her memory using the hashtag #LizHatton and to support the family's campaign to fund research into Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour, the rare and aggressive sarcoma that took Liz's life.Vicky has launched a fundraising initiative at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/vicky-robayna with a goal of raising £100,000, directing donors to Liz's