A very Royal Visit: The day that HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex came to visit Challengers in Farnham.

Regular readers of the blog will know that I support a local charity called Disability Challengers – a fantastic charity where children of all ages and disabilities can come and have lots of fun in a supportive and play-orientated space.

I was honoured to be asked to come and cover a very special event for them recently – a visit from HRH Sophie Countess of Wessex. You cannot underestimate how important it is to charity to receive a visit like this and I was delighted to able to help and be a small part of the day and excitement!

My aim was simple: to capture an overall feeling of the event for them and images of HRH interacting with guests and children during her visit. It was a joy to see everyone’s excitement on the day and watch how HRH was so friendly, chatty and generally putting everyone at ease straightaway. A very special day and amazing boost for Challengers and also a special day for me too, as a photographer.

As always, it is the little moments that always speak loudest to me: the look of wonder on a child’s face when meeting her, the amazing playworkers interacting with the children, and the palpable happiness of grown-ups and children alike.

It made my day to also receive this lovely email from Mady at Challengers afterwards:
“Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all of your help – you were able to capture some really natural and beautiful shots by making everyone feel very at ease and comfortable – this is so important in a setting like ours.  Showing the parents and children photos that you had taken at the event, especially the presentation of the posy to HRH, was incredibly special and I know those parents were so excited about sharing those photos with their friends and family!  We really can’t thank you enough.”

Here are some of my favourite images from the day – hope you enjoy them. If you would like to find out more about Challengers and the fabulous work they do, visit their website: www.disability-challengers.org