Duchess of Cambridge donates seven inches of her own hair help make wigs for children with cancer

(AFP/Getty Images)

Kate Middleton has donated some of her hair - to a cancer a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young adults.

The Duchess of Cambridge is thought to have come up with the idea during a haircut at Kensington Palace.

Hairdresser Joey, who works for Richard Ward Hair in Chelsea, was cutting the royal mother-of-two’s hair around four months ago when she decided to donate seven inches to the Little Princess Trust.

“While Joey was snipping away the idea came to her of doing some good with it rather than throwing it away. She mentioned it to Joey, who thought it was a brilliant idea,” a royal source told The Daily Express.

“It was sent using someone else's name, so that the trust didn't know it was from a royal source – they just thought it was from a female donor in the Kensington area.

“It’s lovely to think somewhere a little girl is happily wearing a wig made from a real princess's hair. It's a very heartwarming thing for Kate to have done, and very thoughtful to use hair that would have otherwise just been thrown away.”

The Herefordshire-based charity which launched in 2006 was set up by the parents of Hanna Tarplee, who died at just five-years-old from a cancerous tumour despite undergoing chemotherapy.

It works with professional wig makers to create realistic wigs for youngsters who have lost their own hair and also helps fund research into minimising the effects of chemotherapy in children.

Despite news of the royal contribution, the charity says it’s not aware of a donation by the Duchess of Cambridge.

“If she had sent us some hair, she may have decided to make it anonymously, understandably after the attention given to the donation made by Harry Styles,” a spokesperson said.

The ex-One Direction star sent his ponytail to the organisation in 2016 an received more than two million likes when he shared an image of the donation on Instagram.