William helps in the lab at Royal Marsden before dinner for cancer charity

William visited the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in Sutton today, and found himself helping out in the labs.

The Duke of Cambridge is the organisation’s president, and whilst there, he took a tour of two research facilities, being shown the state-of-the-art laboratories at the Centre for Molecular Pathology.

Here, he donned a white lab coat, and was shown where the tissue samples are stored in liquid nitrogen.  Janine Salter, the Royal Marsden’s tissue bank manager, replied: “You don’t want to put your hand in there.”

The Royal Marsden was founded in 1851 by Dr William Marsden, originally called the Free Cancer Hospital. The facility was the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research.

In another lab, the Prince put on a blue lab coat to examine tumour cells under a microscope. He was accompanied by doctors who explained what he was seeing, as well as something about their research into cancer and its results.

Last night, William attended the frindly match between England and France to show support for the French people following the Paris attacks.

After, William, met clinicians and patients taking part in trials at the West Wing clinical research centre. He looked visibly moved to meet cancer patient Michael Tyrrell, 48, who has endured seven rounds of chemotherapy since the diagnosis of his cancer in April.

Following in his mother’s footsteps, Prince William became president of the Royal Marsden in 2007, and has had a long relationship with the hospital; he carried out two days of work experience at their children’s unit in 2005, and in 2011, he and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, opened the trust’s cancer unit for children and young people.

In November 2013, the father-of-two observed two operations from within the theatre, alongside surgeons, in Chelsea; he viewed sections of a breast reconstruction and the removal of a bladder tumour on two separate patients.

As he left, the Duke, 33, greeted children from the Royal Marsden nursery, who were excited to meet a real-life Prince.

This evening, William hosted a dinner for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity at Kensington Palace.

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