Queen Camilla met hospital staff, patients, charity donors and architects during her visit to the new centre

A SUPPORT centre for cancer patients has opened in the car park of the Royal Free Hospital.

The cutting-edge building, designed for the cancer charity Maggie’s by New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind, was opened by the Queen yesterday (Wednesday).

Camilla was guided around the centre by the chief executive of Maggie’s, Dame Laura Lee. She met hospital staff, cancer patients, charity donors and the architects behind the project as part of the tour.

Katie Demetriou, from Tufnell Park, told the Queen about her visits to the centre following a diagnosis for lymphoma last year.

She said: “In Maggie’s, I can come in and express my true self without feeling guilty or hiding anything – I don’t have to wear my wig.” Camilla, who has been president of Maggie’s since 2008 described the building as an “incredible place”. The charity supports patients and their families following a cancer diagnosis.

Visitors to the centre will have access to therapy, financial advice and group activities, among other resources.

Daniel Libeskind designed the new building

In a speech, architect Mr Libeskind said: “I tried to create a project that has a welcoming sense of beauty, a kind of poetry and musicality to it, based on certain curvatures like a growing of a seed into flowering. It’s a building really organised around light.

“I designed it as a building that has a scale that is domestic. Of course, it is located in a challenging site, with a big hospital and other buildings, but to create a new sense of orientation that really infuses people who come here with a sense of optimism, with a sense of hope, and a sense of life.”

Ms Lee said: “I don’t need to tell you how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be. So to know that over 100 people a day come through this door, and be able to find the solace and support they and their families need, is absolutely critical.”