Prince William follows in his mother's footsteps

Yesterday, Prince William showed that he shares the compassion that made her the people's princess by visiting St Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln for himself.

After an icy three-hour journey from Gloucestershire, the Prince spent more than an hour talking to patients, staff and volunteers at the hospice.

The 27-year-old joked with patients, all of whom have terminal illnesses such as cancer and Motor Neurone Disease, during an art class at the centre.

William was invited to visit St Barnabas by his aunt and Princess Diana's elder sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who is currently High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.

Princess Diana visited the hospice's in-patient site in the centre of Lincoln in 1992.

During the visit the Prince spoke to 59-year-old patient Jane Wood. After their meeting, she said: "It was very good. He said I was artistic but I said that I wasn't. He seemed very interested in our art. He's just an ordinary guy, isn't he?"

William also spoke to Kelly McKelvy, 10, and her 14-year-old brother Bradley. The youngsters, whose mother Jackie, 47, is being supported in the hospice, then presented the Prince with a teddy bear called Barnabas.

Kelly said: "It was a great honour to meet Prince William. Not many people can say they have met him, can they?

"He asked us why we came to St Barnabas and whether the people were nice to us."

St Barnabas supports between 12 and 15 patients each day. As well as providing a range of complementary therapies such as reiki and Indian head massage, it also has counsellors and offers support to the relatives of those with terminal illnesses.

The Prince also visited nearby RAF Coningsby, of which he is honorary air commandant.