A CHARITY overlooking St Michael's Mount, which helps bereaving families come to terms with losing a loved one, was honoured with a royal visit last week.

The Duke of Kent visited the Sand Rose project, a set of cottages and award-winning garden in Marazion, where he met trustees, staff and families.

The charity has supported more than 300 families, including 450 children, since it was set up by Angie MacDonald in 2004, who was widowed aged 30 with a two-year-old son.

Her second husband and chairman of the trustees, Keith Butterfield, said it was a huge accolade to meet the duke, who himself lost his father in a wartime accident, aged seven.

Mr Butterfield said: "As a young charity we are at a particular stage where the visit by the Duke of Kent will be immensely significant for us.

"It will enable us to fully consolidate ourselves as an important part of bereavement support in this country.

"Although we have a truly national organisation supporting families from all over the country, we also feel we have a strong and unique local identity and we support families based in Cornwall and the South West."

Faye Best, who stayed at Sand Rose after her 24-year-old son Andrew passed away, said it helped bring her family back together.

"It brought us together as a family.

"We started playing cards and games together which we hadn't done in a long time," she said. "Nobody had to badger each other about the washing up or anything like that and the garden is amazing.

"It brought my family back together, it was incredible."

The garden at Sand Rose was recognised last month when Ms MacDonald was one of ten gardeners nationally to receive the Gardening Against All Odds Award.

For more information about the charity visit www.sandrose.org.uk