The Duchess of Cambridge shared a message on Sunday thanking everyone who wished her a happy birthday, but one little girl has since received a personal response from Kate. The royal replied to an adorable video of Mila Sneddon wishing the Duchess a happy birthday.
“Happy Birthday Catherine!” Mila said in the video. “I’m so happy you’re turning 40. Hope you get nice gifts [and] love spending time with your family. Bye. Lots of love, Mila.”
Mila’s mom Lynda Sneddon shared the video on Twitter writing, “Better late than never and home to isolate from hospital ! Wishing the Duchess of Cambridge a very happy 40th birthday from your number one fan !! Lots of love.” The Cambridges’ Twitter account responded to the video on Monday, tweeting: “Thank you Mila!”
Mila was one of the finalists from Kate’s Hold Still photography project. The Duchess finally met the little girl last May wearing a pink dress like she said she would during their phone call in the fall of 2020. The pair reunited in December at Kate’s Together at Christmas service.
“Last month, we were flown down to London for the Christmas carol service where Mila was asked to read a prayer to the congregation. After that very surreal moment, we all sat down next to members of the Royal Family,” Mila’s mom told The Sun . “Those moments made Mila feel really special and it was a good distraction from her treatment. Now she’s recognised as the happy little girl who met Kate Middleton and not the poor little girl with cancer.”
“When Mila returned to school she had physically changed quite a lot and had no hair due to chemotherapy. She faced a lot of difficult questions but meeting a real-life princess gave her something incredible to talk about. Mila loves to tell everyone about the drawing she did for Kate and that she performed multiple twirls and cartwheels for her too,” Lynda added. “We are just a normal run-of-the-mill kind of family but Kate is such a gentle soul that she immediately made my daughter feel comfortable. Mila, who is now six, will have her last chemotherapy session on March 31 and we’re hoping she will be cancer-free. I’m very proud of all that Mila has achieved and can’t thank the Duchess enough.”