​BRIGHT sunshine greeted the Duchess of Cornwall as she arrived  to open a £2.3 million cancer centre in Cheltenham.

Patients, doctors and dignitaries gathered at Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre, in College Baths Road, yesterday to welcome the Duchess, who has been president of the national charity since 2008.

After presenting the centre with a Duchess of Cornwall rose, she told guests: “I went to visit the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh on the off-chance.

“I walked into this incredible building and I was smitten. When I was asked to be president, I simply couldn’t say no.”

The Duchess  said it was “an honour” to be in Cheltenham opening the charity’s seventh centre.

She said: “The standard of architecture gets higher and higher. I feel sorry for the next lot of architects. I’m delighted to open it today, it’s a great honour for me.”

Among the guests was Hilary Plumtree, whose husband Brian died in 1997 after battling oesophageal cancer.

The 57-year-old, from Charlton Kings, struggled to find a place where she could get emotional and practical support for both Brian and her family.

She said: “I had little experience of cancer, I’d certainly never cared for anyone with cancer. The prospects were somewhat bleak. We were living through a fog.”

The opening of Maggie’s, she said, would be a “dream” for people going through the same experience.

Mum-of-two Claire Driver, 44, from Cheltenham, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 22. After nine years in remission, the tumour returned in November 2004.

She said: “This is a wonderful place, it’s like a home-from- home. There’s a very relaxed atmosphere. I’ll be attending a support group here for people with brain tumours  the second Tuesday of every month.”

The centre is the first of five planned for England and Wales set to open, or be under construction, by 2012 as part of a £15 million campaign. It will complement the treatment on offer in hospital.

Architect Sir Richard MacCormack said he initially felt daunted by the task of creating Maggie’s Cheltenham.

He said: “It’s been very exciting, but almost immediately I actually felt a tempered sense of designing a centre being a daunting task.

“How can a designer presume to design a building for people with cancer?”

Scientist turned designer Dr Christine Facer Hoffman is  behind the peaceful landscaped gardens surrounding the centre. She based the design on a tilted S-shape motif, which she said visually represented life and living.

Eric Schaschke, whose wife Rosalind lost her battle with cancer 17 months ago, said she would have loved the building.

As a member of Rotary Club of Cheltenham Cleeve Vale, he has helped to raise funds for Maggie’s Cheltenham and is delighted  now to be offering his services as a volunteer.

He said: “I visited Maggie’s Glasgow and was met by a greeter who made me feel so welcome. There was no such thing as patients, just friends. It was like a family. I decided I wanted to do the same thing here in Cheltenham.”

He said he was honoured to meet the Duchess.

“She took the time to speak to everyone individually and there was no rush. She spoke from the heart.”

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood also attended the opening ceremony.

He said: “The centre pulls off the trick of feeling light and airy and cosy, and intimate at the same time.

“It’s a wonderful place for people to chill out, relax, and get some support. It’s a real asset to Cheltenham.”