Faith Dickinson had five fascinators and a pile of her handmade fleece blankets in tow as she boarded a British Airways red-eye flight to London Wednesday. The Peterborough, Ont., resident, 15, is believed to be only Canadian teenager invited to the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
鈥淚 am very excited,鈥� she gushed at the airport. 鈥淚t is pretty overwhelming. I don鈥檛 think it became real until right now when we walked in.鈥�
She is the founder of Cuddles for Cancer, a charity that makes blankets for people with cancer and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or injuries. Her work won her the Diana Legacy Award last year and she was presented the honour by Prince Harry and Prince William in London. The mentoring program is named after their mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
Dickinson is one of 2,640 鈥渞egular鈥� people invited to be on the grounds of Windsor Castle while the couple exchanges their vows Saturday. While her invitation was for one, she was given airfare and a three-day trip to London for herself and a chaperone 鈥� her grandmother 鈥� by Kensington Palace.
Her parents are also making the trip at their own expense.
鈥淭here are no words, we鈥檙e just totally stunned by the support the entire country has given us,鈥� said her mom Carrie.
Ottawa designer Zarucci supplied the 鈥渄ream dress鈥� Dickinson will wear. The dress code for guests calls for a day dress and hat for women and uniform, morning suit or leisure suit for men. Dickinson packed a few fascinators she picked out at a Toronto milliner shop but wouldn鈥檛 reveal which one she will wear on the big day.
Dickinson launched her charity at age nine when she made a fleece blanket for her aunt who was going through cancer treatments.
Since then, Dickinson has made more than 3,000 blankets, each personalized with details about the recipient's hobbies or favourite colour. They have been sent around the world.
-With a report from CTV Toronto's Andria Case
