Kate's donation

The Duchess of Cambridge has donated some of her hair to go towards making wigs for young patients suffering from cancer.

The 36-year-old's hairdresser is believed to have trimmed more than seven inches from her usual length.

An aide is believed to have picked up the hair which is thought to have been sent to the Little Princess Trust.

The organisation helps make wigs for children who have lost their own hair after receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment.

The idea is believed to have come to the Duchess after she had her hair cut at Kensington Palace by hairdresser Joey, 30, who works for Richard Ward Hair in Chelsea.     

'Four months ago Joey persuaded her it was time to take off some of her hair; he said it was just getting too long,' a royal source told the Daily Express.

'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.

'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.'

The source added: '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.' 

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.