Sutton Coldfield family’s jaw-dropping triple encounter with Catherine, Princess of Wales during the Three Peaks Challenge leaves 11-year-old Ted and his 16-strong support team stunned – and donations for seriously ill children are now soaring.
In one of the most uplifting royal stories of the year, an 11-year-old paraplegic boy from Sutton Coldfield and his devoted family experienced not one, but three extraordinary meetings with Catherine, Princess of Wales while tackling the gruelling National Three Peaks Challenge — and the Princess’s quiet kindness has since ignited a wave of generosity for a children’s charity.
Ted Haslam, who has been wheelchair-bound since the age of three after an aggressive spinal tumour left him paralysed, was pushed and carried up Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis and Snowdon by his father Pete Haslam and 15 family members and friends. Their mission: to raise vital funds for Molly Olly’s Wishes, the Warwick-based charity that supports children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through gifts, therapeutic toys, books and moments of joy.
What none of them expected was to bump into the Princess of Wales — herself completing the same iconic challenge — on every single mountain.
“She was being very motherly to Ted”
The first meeting happened on the slopes when Catherine, dressed in ordinary walking clothes and carrying her own pack, spotted the group carefully manoeuvring Ted’s wheelchair up the rugged terrain. She stopped, introduced herself warmly, and began chatting directly with the young boy.
Pete Haslam, who was at the back of the group at the time, described the surreal moment:
“The first time we ran into her, I was at the back of the group and I obviously knew we’d stopped to speak to someone, but I didn’t know who they were speaking to. A good 30 seconds must have passed before they called me forward and I was just dumbfounded. I think I might have just walked past her.”
Catherine asked Ted all the caring questions any mother would — whether he was warm enough, how he had slept after the first mountain, and how he was coping with the demanding conditions. Ted later told BBC Radio WM it was “amazing and incredible” once he realised who she was.
The second encounter the following morning was even more astonishing. As Catherine passed the group again she smiled and said simply: “Hi Ted.”
“Shockingly when she went past us on the second morning she said ‘hi Ted’ and we were double taking she’d remembered his name. It was amazing,” Pete recalled. “She was lovely, she was being very motherly to Ted.”
By the third meeting, on the final peak, the connection was unmistakable. The Princess had not only remembered the brave boy’s name but had clearly been moved by his determination.
Brutal conditions, unbreakable spirit
The Three Peaks Challenge — climbing the highest mountains in England (Scafell Pike), Scotland (Ben Nevis) and Wales (Snowdon) — is a legendary test of endurance covering roughly 23 miles with over 3,000 metres of ascent. Most teams aim to complete it within 24 hours. Ted’s group had set a more realistic 30-hour target given the extra challenges of pushing and carrying a wheelchair.
They faced “every season” in a single day: torrential rain and 40mph winds on Scafell Pike, snow on the summit of Ben Nevis, and relentless rocky terrain throughout. Yet Ted described the experience with typical boyish humour:
“It was very tough but very funny as well because I kept bouncing up and down.”
His father added:
“It was tough, a lot tougher than expected… Scafell Pike was absolutely brutal… we went for every season basically across the 30 hours.”
Despite everything, the team smashed their target, finishing 10 minutes early — with some members even running the final stretch while pushing Ted.
A private royal donation that changed everything
Catherine didn’t just offer words of encouragement. She quietly made a personal donation to Ted’s JustGiving page under the name “Catherine Wales”, leaving a supportive message wishing the team well on Snowdon. The impact was immediate and dramatic.
The fundraiser, which had a modest initial target of £5,000, has now smashed past £11,000 and continues to climb rapidly thanks to the media attention and an outpouring of inspiring messages from the public.
“It’s just going crazy, because we bumped into her Royal Highness, it’s got a load of media attention,” Pete said. “We’re getting so many more donations, which is absolutely incredible, and some of the messages people are leaving are really inspiring, really lovely. Hopefully this sort of thing will inspire other kids in similar situations like Ted to just think outside the box and see what they’re capable of.”
Who is Molly Olly’s Wishes?
Molly Olly’s Wishes is a Warwickshire charity dedicated to supporting children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. They provide personalised gifts, therapeutic toys and books to bring moments of joy during incredibly difficult times, and donate items to hospitals across the UK. Ted’s family — including his mum Jo and colleagues from Surespan Covers — are long-time supporters, making this challenge deeply personal.
Catherine’s own inspiring journey
The Princess’s meetings with Ted came during her own highly personal Three Peaks Challenge, which she completed solo and on time over 28–29 June 2026. Undertaken to raise funds and awareness for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity — where she received treatment following her 2024 cancer diagnosis — Catherine has spoken openly about showing there is “life beyond a cancer diagnosis” and the importance of physical and emotional resilience.
Her down-to-earth approach, genuine warmth and ability to connect with people from all walks of life have once again shone through in these unscripted mountain moments.
Attached Photo Recommendation:
Use the powerful group summit photograph from the challenge (the one showing Ted smiling in his wheelchair at the rocky peak, surrounded by his beaming father Pete, family and friends in hiking gear — many wearing bright pink Molly Ollys t-shirts). It perfectly captures the joy, determination and triumph of the day. The image radiates the exact spirit of this story.
This beautiful encounter is a powerful reminder that kindness costs nothing yet can change everything — for a brave young boy, his family, and dozens of children supported by Molly Olly’s Wishes. In the most challenging of terrains, Princess Catherine once again proved why she continues to capture the hearts of the nation.
