Royal audience for brave fighter

HE'S already met Swansea's own King of the Terraces and now Matthew Thorne has added more royalty to the list.

The brave nine-year-old has a brain tumour, which is so close to his optical nerve that he is severely visually impaired.

And he is currently undergoing a gruelling course of chemotherapy to treat it.

In October, he was lucky enough to met football hero Lee Trundle.

The former Swans legend agreed to meet Matthew to help lift his spirits — and encourage him to keep on fighting.

And now he has another name to add to his list of celebrity friends — after coming face to face with royalty.

The young battler from Briton Ferry this week met Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, after visiting her at the Prince of Wales's Highgrove home, as part of a group of youngsters sent by Welsh children's charity LATCH.

His dad Wayne said: "Matthew was lucky enough to be selected to go by LATCH and he really enjoyed the visit.

"But it was touch and go whether he would be able to make it.

"He's been ill with tonsillitis recently, but he was determined to be well enough to go."

The invitation to Highgrove was to attend a lunch reception hosted by the Duchess to celebrate the achievements of the Welsh charity, which offers support to the families of children affected by cancer.

And Camilla, who was presented with two paintings by the party from Latch, including one of a Welsh dragon, said: "I look forward to hanging them and showing them off to my granddaughters."

The visit to Highgrove was a welcome break for Matthew.

He was just eight months old when doctors discovered he had a tumour in his brain, and underwent surgery to remove part of it.

It remained dormant until last summer, when it started to grow again.

And that led to the start of an 18-month course of chemotherapy, which is due to be completed by next March.

Dad Wayne said: "The tumour will never go, but we are trying to manage it so, as he gets older, there is less chance of it growing.

"He is coming to the end of his chemotherapy, and it seems to be working.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed.

"It is difficult for him, but meeting people such as Lee Trundle and Camilla definitely gives him a lift — it gives him something to look forward to."