Grief researcher invited to Coronation garden party

Dr Lucy Selman is a researcher specialising in end-of-life care

A woman whose work has supported thousands of people through serious illness and bereavement will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Dr Lucy Selman has been invited to a Coronation party for King Charles III taking place on Tuesday.

She became interested in bereavement after her father died when she was 15.

Dr Selman later became a University of Bristol researcher specialising in end-of-life care and founded the Good Grief Festival.

She said: "The invitation was a complete surprise. I am thrilled to be part of such a historic moment and for our work in end-of-life care and bereavement support to be recognised."

Her research over the past 18 years has focused on illness experience, treatment decision-making and communication, family caregiving and bereavement, and widening access to services.

A garden party is being held to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla

At the start of the pandemic, Dr Selman became the founding director of Good Grief Festival, which provides a range of workshops, performances and other grassroot community activities where people can talk openly and honestly about death and loss.

Since their first virtual festival in October 2020, Good Grief have hosted 150 free events attended by more than 27,000 people.

To celebrate the Coronation, two royal garden parties are taking place in the gardens of Buckingham Palace this year, as well as one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.