20 Years of Crowning Courage and Bravery
The Little Princess Trust’s remarkable journey has now entered its 20th year. Here we look at how the organisation has grown and grown to become the largest wig charity in the world.
When The Little Princess Trust was first set up, the volunteers who launched the charity in memory of Hannah Tarplee did not ask for hair donations.
Instead, the first wigs the charity provided were bought commercially thanks to financial donations that the friends and family of Hannah had made in her memory.
In the first year of the charity, a total of 36 wigs were given to children who had lost their hair because of cancer treatment. The number of young people with hair loss now helped every 12 months stands closer to 2,000.
This change is, in no small part, thanks to the hair donations that are sent to the charity from supporters all around the world.
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, the mother of Hannah and one of the founders of the charity, said they were at first surprised to receive donations of hair in the post.
She added: “We never asked people to send us their hair but, as word spread of what we were doing, I think some just assumed that we wanted their hair to make wigs.
“It seemed like such a wonderful thing for people to do and, despite the fact that none of us involved with the charity at that stage were wigmakers, we were determined to find a way to turn the hair into wigs.”
With help and expert advice from some big names within the world of wig-making, it wasn’t long before the hair donations sent to the charity’s headquarters in Hereford were being turned into wigs by talented wig-knotters overseas.
Meanwhile, in 2021, the charity also established a freelance network of wig-knotters in the UK who, after receiving training from its partners at Banbury Postiche, also made wigs destined for the young people helped by The Little Princess Trust.
As the charity enters its 20th year, its desire to support children with hair loss by providing them with a free wig remains as strong as ever.
A new partnership with wig fitters in Slovenia means young people in that country can also receive a free wig and this builds on previous partnerships that were recently established to take The Little Princess Trust’s free wig service to Portugal, Bulgaria, Sweden and Germany.
• The Little Princess Trust is inviting all its supporters to help the charity mark its 20th anniversary. Digital artwork and logos have been created and they can be downloaded for free by visiting www.littleprincesses.org.uk/20
The Little Princess Trust is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Photo: Gabriella Karney
