Kate Middleton pledges to plant sunflower in memory of a young boy with rare illness who died in January

Fraser Delf died in January aged nine as a result of Coats plus syndrome

The Duchess of Cambridge has pledged to plant a sunflower to honour the life of a nine-year-old boy who died in January from a rare illness.

Fraser Delf spent seven weeks living in Each hospice in Milton, Cambridge before he passed away as a result of result of Coats plus syndrome, which is a rare condition that affects multiple organs and causes brain abnormalities.

In a video of a Zoom call shared by Clarence House on Monday, Kate spoke to Delf’s family alongside the Duchess of Cornwall to mark Children’s Hospice Week, which runs until 28 June.

The Duchess was joined by Stuart and Carla Delf and their son, Stuie, 13, who recently ran a 5km-a-day sponsored run to raise money for the Each hospice.

Stuie told Kate he had been inspired to raise money for the hospice after seeing Captain Sir Tom Moore raise more than £33m for the NHS by walking laps of his garden.

The teenager had only intended to raise £500 in order to support the hospice through the pandemic but wound up raising more than £18,500.

“Captain Tom has done a lot for this country, hasn’t he?” said Camilla. “He’s inspired so many people. You must be very fit, Stuie.”

Stuie explained how close he was with his younger brother.

“Fraser wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend,” he said.

Asked by the Duchess how the support was that they received from Each when Fraser was sick, Carla replied: “They are such amazing people.

“The care was amazing, not just towards Fraser and making sure he was comfortable, but our wellbeing was met. We had a cooked meal every day.

“We had Father Christmas visit and we also renewed our wedding vows.”

After the Zoom call, Mr Delf, 42, told the BBC: “[Catherine] said she was going to plant a sunflower in memory of Fraser.”

A sunflower is often viewed as a symbol for hospice care.