The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have contributed jokes to a schoolboy’s book, to raise money for organisations which supported both of his grandads before their deaths.
William and Catherine were asked for their funniest submissions, by Tom Heyes from Lancashire for his joke book. Harry Hill, Peter Kay and other celebrities were also contacted, and 45 well-known figures sent back their ideas.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge submitted their ideas for the book. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
The Queen was also asked, but the Buckingham Palace response was a polite decline.
The book, titled ‘Tom’s Great Joke Book’ has raised £840 for charity. Both Tom’s grandfathers died within 18 months of one another: one from leukemia and the other from heart problems.
He says he got bored practicing his handwriting, so began to write jokes instead, and the idea grew from there. He began to send a joke, along with an envelope and a stamp to famous people.
William and Catherine sent two pages of responses to the youngster. Peter Kay’s response came: “Shakespeare walks into a pub. The landlord says: ‘You’re bard!'”
“Soon I had lots of jokes and I thought it would make a great book because I wanted to raise some money in memory of my grandads,” Tom told the Liverpool Echo.
The Medical Day Unit at Southport Hospital, where his grandad was a patient before his death, and the British Heart Foundation will be benefitting equally from the book.
Neil and Claire Heyes, Tom’s parents, published 300 copies of the book through their family opticians business, and sold them for £3 each.
Neil said: “It’s been fantastic how supportive people have been and it’s great for Tom to have such another great memory of his grandads.”
