Readers of the Ilford Recorder have contributed £134,000 to a £2m new cancer treatment centre at King George Hospital, after an appeal in the newspaper.

The centre got its royal seal of approval when Princess Alexandra conducted the official opening.

Apart from the contributions from readers, staff at the Recorder also played their part in supporting the Cedar Centre appeal, by raising thousands of pounds of their own through a variety of events.

Editor Chris Carter was one of the invited guests introduced to the princess.

She took time to speak with him and acknowledged the effort of the Archant-owned paper and its readers in helping get the centre off the ground.

And she also quizzed him on the set-up of the newspaper, inquiring how many people worked there and who the owners were.

Chris said afterwards: “The princess was charming and quite down-to-earth.

“I was touched by the amount of time she spent talking to the patients and how she mingled with the guests afterwards with a cup of tea in her hand.”

The appeal was shortlisted as a contender for Campaign of the Year at last year’s Archant Awards.

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