During the four-year period when Emma Blundell's immune system was too weak for her to go out in public, her mother would take her for drives in the car. It was on one of those occasions Emma, now eight, first saw the princess castle.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"We couldn't go into many places when she was little," Emma's mother Jackie Blundell said. "Instead we would go for little drives around Newcastle.
"When we passed Christ Church Cathedral, we used to tell her a princess lived up in the top of the tower."
Emma was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of two, and then relapsed two years later while still undergoing chemotherapy.
Between 2014 and 2018 she spent most of her time either in hospitals in Sydney and Newcastle, or in protective isolation at home in Warners Bay.
Emma was first contacted by volunteers from the Make-A-Wish charity at the beginning of 2017 after she had undergone a bone marrow transplant.
Emma's wish involved finally meeting the princess in the castle on the hill, and becoming a princess herself.
"The volunteers actually didn't know when we'd be able to do it because she was so sick," Ms Blundell said.
"They gave her a Make-A-Wish package which had a special coin in it. She kept that under her pillow for almost a year, because she knew her wish was going to come true."
Emma has now been out of protective isolation for 18 months. She began kindergarten last year.
In March of this year, she was told she could finally fulfill her dream.
Emma's exact request was based on a Barbie movie called 'Rock 'n' Royal' about a musician and a princess who trade places.
"She wanted to be a Barbie princess that turns into a rock star," Ms Blundell said.
Emma was given singing lessons for four weeks and then on March 24 she was transformed into a princess for a day. A limousine took Emma to Christ Church Cathedral where she met her favourite princess characters, and a unicorn, for high tea. Then she was then whisked away to Civic Theatre, where she prepared for her concert in a personal dressing room.
Ms Blundell said it was "heartbreakingly beautiful" to watch her daughter sing on the theatre's stage with fifty family members and friends in the audience.
Emma said it made her feel "super happy".
The pair are now encouraging people to donate to Make-A-Wish during its "24 Hours of Possibility" fundraising campaign on Wednesday so more children who have experienced illness can have their wishes granted.
"It's giving them a little light, and something to look forward to, during a really dark time," Ms Blundell said.
Related stories:
