Tony Hudgell reveals 'beautiful' Kate asked him to write her a story

Tony Hudgell, the nine-year-old boy who has raised millions of pounds walking vast distances on prosthetics after his legs were amputated in infancy due to horrific abuse, has revealed details of his special friendship with the Princess of Wales.

Tony, from West Malling in Kent, met royal mother-of-three Kate, 41, at Evelina London Children's Hospital yesterday where he and his mother Paula chatted with her - and Paula was pictured feeling a little emotional at the meeting.

Speaking on the This Morning sofa today, Tony explained that, on his second meeting with Kate, she asked him to write her a short story - something he does frequently at school.

Sitting on Paula's lap, he told presenters Emma Willis and Rylan Clark that he plans to write the royal a story about what it was like to meet her - which he added he will send straight to the Palace.

Despite previously meeting Kate at the Princess's Christmas Carol Concert in Westminster Abbey in 2021, and again at the Day Centre in Westminster, Tony appeared bashful as he agreed with his mother that the Princess of Wales is 'beautiful'. 

As he announced his Christmas Present Appeal for this year, where he gives out gifts to children who need then during the festive period, Tony spoke about his ongoing friendship with the Princess of Wales after the pair spent time together yesterday.

He agreed with Rylan that Kate is now his 'best mate' after they coloured together at the Evelina Hospital.

Rylan and Emma asked Tony what he and Kate discussed during their time together, at which point Tony appeared to struggle to remember and asked himself: 'What were we talking about?'

Paula jumped in and nudged her son, asking him: 'What have you got to do for her?'

Tony lit up and said: 'Oh yeah, she wants one of my stories!'

He added he writes stories in his school lessons and said: 'I'm gonna do one about meeting her yesterday.'

When Paula explained Kate had asked for the story to be 'sent to her' when it was complete, Rylan gasped and asked: 'You're going to send it to the Palace?'

Emma Willis then asked Tony what Kate was like - prompting a wide smile from Tony as he went quiet and said: 'she was...'

Paula added: 'She was beautiful, wasn't she?' to which a beaming Tony replied: 'Yeah'.

Tony's appearance on the ITV daytime show comes after he took part in a colouring session with Kate yesterday at Evelina - and Paula struggled to contain her emotions as she posed for a photo with her son and the royal. 

Tony was rushed to hospital with life changing injuries in 2014 when he was 41-days-old, following horrific abuse from his birth parents, Jody Simpson and Tony Smith. The pair were found guilty of child cruelty in 2018 and are both currently serving a ten-year prison sentence.

In 2017, Tony had both legs amputated due to the injuries he sustained as an infant, and he's currently learning to walk on prosthetic legs without crutches.

After his incredibly difficult start in life, Tony was adopted by Paula and Mark Hudgell of West Malling, Kent, who have successfully campaigned for longer sentences for anyone who seriously harms a child, and are now calling for a register of abusers in the wake of the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.

At Kate's first Christmas Carol Concert, held in December 2021, the young fundraiser met the Prince and Princess of Wales for the first time and reportedly spent 'ages' chatting to them,

His proud parents later tweeted: 'Tony has no idea of the impact or enormity he holds.

'[The Prince and Princess of Wales] were truly incredible with him. They chatted to us both for ages. A truly magical evening.'

A sweet image from the event showed William and Kate crouching down to Tony's eye level to chat to the youngster while his proud mother Paula looked on.

The invite to the concert came after Kate was impressed by Tony's charity efforts in 2020, when he raised more than £1.5 million for Evelina.