The £10m appeal for a new children's hospice in Norfolk will get a major boost as The Duchess of Cambridge attends the opening night of popular musical 42nd Street in London.

Eastern Daily Press: The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham.The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham. (Image: Archant Norfolk Photographic © 2017)

The £10m appeal for a new children's hospice in Norfolk will get a major boost as The Duchess of Cambridge attends the opening night of popular musical 42nd Street in London.

The Duchess is royal patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) and the gala night will raise money for the charity's nook appeal.

The special event is taking place at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on Tuesday April 4.

The new revival of the classic musical stars Grammy award winner Sheena Easton.

Eastern Daily Press: The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham.The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham. (Image: Archant Norfolk Photographic © 2017)

Michael Linnit and Michael Grade, together with The Global Group of Companies for Gate Ventures, will be supporting the nook appeal for the run of the show. The charity has already been pledged a gift of £250,000 towards the appeal from one donor.

Executive producer of 42nd Street, Dr Johnny Hon, said: 'We are delighted to support the nook appeal on the opening night of 42nd Street and we are honoured to be joined by the Duchess of Cambridge as the charity's royal patron.'

EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions.

It has outgrown its hospice at Quidenham and is currently fund-raising for a new purpose-built one called the nook.

Eastern Daily Press: The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham.The Duchess of Cambridge visits EACH Hospice at Quidenham. (Image: Archant Norfolk Photographic © 2017)

The Duchess helped to launch the nook appeal in 2014 and in January this year visited Quidenham to meet with staff and families for an update on the appeal and plans for the new hospice.

EACH needs to secure a further £5 million to make its vision a reality.

EACH chief executive Graham Butland said: 'We are very much looking forward to welcoming Her Royal Highness for what I'm sure will be an exceptional evening for the nook appeal.

'This is an amazing opportunity for EACH and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to make our involvement possible.

'It is fantastic that we have already received a very generous donation and we hope that during the evening the audience will help us raise even more money to make our vision a reality – it would be wonderful if with the support of everyone involved we could reach £420,000!'

To support the nook appeal visit www.each.org.uk/the-nook.