William surprises mother on charity walk in memory of daughter

The Prince of Wales surprised a mother during a walking challenge in memory of her daughter who took her own life.

Emma Webb, mother to Brodie who died aged 16, screamed after William approached her during her walk to raise money for suicide prevention charities.

Ms Webb is walking more than 157 miles over 18 days from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, to the Excel Centre in London to raise money for charity.

On day 13 of her walk, called Leg on to London, Ms Webb had a surprise visit from William who hugged her and showed support for her challenge.

In a video posted on Facebook, William walked slowly towards Ms Webb who can be heard screaming in shock.

On Facebook she wrote: “So day 13… and this happened. How very, very kind and supportive. Keep watching for the biggest surprise.”

The video was widely shared across a number of social media platforms, including X, formerly Twitter, being seen by more than one million users.

In tribute to her daughter, who was a show jumper, Ms Webb is walking with a life-size resin horse to pay homage to Brodie’s hobby.

The walk began on November 25 at the David Broome Event Centre in Chepstow, which was Brodie’s favourite showground.

The challenge will end at the Excel Centre in London Docklands in time for the International Horse Show, which is an event Ms Webb attended annually with Brodie.

On her website, called “do it for brodie”, Ms Webb said the horse show was “a huge part of our lives and we loved attending each year as part of our family lead up to Christmas celebrations”.

Ms Webb’s challenge aims to raise money for Riders Mind, a charity aiming to improve the mental wellbeing of equestrians, and Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide.

The challenge will see Ms Webb walk from Wales through Bath, Wiltshire, Reading and Slough before she walks from Heathrow Terminal 3 and Hyde Park to reach her destination at the Excel Centre next Wednesday.

Ms Webb aimed to raise a total of £30,000 on JustGiving, but surpassed her target by more than £2,500 as of Thursday.