11-year-old boy bumps into Princess of Wales while raising money for Molly Ollys
An 11-year-old paraplegic boy bumped into the Princess of Wales three times while scaling the Three Peaks for a children’s charity.
Ted, from Sutton Coldfield, set himself the challenge to raise money for children’s charity Molly Olly’s and was pushed and carried in his wheelchair by his father Pete and 15 other members of his family.
On each mountain, the group met the princess, who chatted to Ted and asked him how he was doing, and has since donated to Ted’s fundraiser.
Ted said: “It was incredible, one of the most memorable things of my life”.
Ted has become only the second person in a wheelchair to complete the challenge, climbing the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in just under 30 hours.
While at the top of Scafell Pike, the Princess of Wales said: “How are you doing Ted? You’re not too cold? It’s a shame we haven’t got the views today.”
She was so taken by the challenge, that Pete received a call from Kensington Palace afterwards, asking for Ted’s JustGiving fundraising page, which the Princess of Wales has since made a personal donation to.
Pete added: “The first time we ran into her, I was at the rear of the group and knew we had stopped to speak to someone but wasn’t sure who.
“When I realised who it was, I was just dumbfounded.
“We told the Princess that we’d previously met her husband at a recent Aston Villa match, as our family are all big supporters and then when we bumped into her for a second time, she just said, ‘hi Ted’, which was amazing for her to remember him and his name too.”
The media interest in Ted’s story has picked up the pace in the past 24 hours, culminating in an appearance today on This Morning on ITV with Ben Shepherd and Cat Deeley.
Molly Ollys was established in 2011 by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw, from Warwick, following the death of their eight-year-old daughter Molly from a rare kidney cancer.
The charity works to support children with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families and help with their emotional wellbeing.
As well as providing wishes, they donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.
The therapeutic toy lion called Olly the Brave has his own Hickman line and a detachable mane which helps to explain and normalise the effects of chemotherapy.
These form part of an Olly the Brave pack that has now been handed out to more than 70 hospitals or health centres, along with a set of books from the charity’s exclusive Olly the Brave series.
Rachel said: “Ted is a real inspiration to so many children living with life-threatening illnesses.
“He is paraplegic following a diagnosis of spine cancer and Molly Ollys is delighted to have been able to support him during his treatment with a gift to help entertain him whilst in hospital.
“Since that time, Ted’s Dad Pete, Mum Jo and numerous families, friends and colleagues at Surespan Covers have raised thousands of pounds to help us continue the work we do around the UK.”
