CAMILLA, the Duchess of Cornwall, paid tribute to the hard work undertaken by pupils at The Royal School Hampstead to raise money for a charity close to her heart. The Duchess, who is patron of the school, visited pupils on the day of their Big Bone Walk

CAMILLA, the Duchess of Cornwall, paid tribute to the hard work undertaken by pupils at The Royal School Hampstead to raise money for a charity close to her heart.

The Duchess, who is patron of the school, visited pupils on the day of their Big Bone Walk to raise cash for the National Osteoporosis Society, of which she is president.

She said to the girls: "I would like to give you all my congratulations. You have done a fantastic job and I wish there were a lot more schools out there like you.

"Thanks for raising so much money for the charity, you have done a wonderful job and I am very proud of you all."

The Duchess joined the school's youngest pupils to walk laps of the playground for their big bone walk and waved off the senior pupils for a trek on the heath.

She also sat with the junior school pupils for a cup of hot cocoa in the dining room after they returned from their walk.

The whole school was wearing special Big Bone Walk T-shirts designed by 15-year-olds Rachel Howlett and Aminata Seraye-Wurie.

Headteacher Jo Ebner said: "It was a very successful event. It was lovely that she spoke to the girls which was very special for them.

"And I think she was very impressed that the girls are doing so much for the charity."

The Duchess's mother, Rosalind Shand, was 72 when she died in 1994 as a result of osteoporosis and the Duchess's grandmother had died from the same condition eight years earlier.

The school is hoping to raise �5,000 for the society through the Big Bone Walk.