The Countess celebrates 30 years of ChildLine

The Countess of Wessex,  Patron of ChildLine and President of National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, hosted a Thirtieth Anniversary Reception for ChildLine at Buckingham Palace.

ChildLine is a free 24-hour counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, mental illness, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance misuse.

In 2014-15, there were nearly 300,000 counselling sessions carried out between young people and ChildLine. The most common issues were family relationships, low self-esteem and unhappiness, abuse, bullying and online bullying and self-harm.

Guests included founder Esther Rantzen and Games of Thrones star Natalie Dormer - a supporter of the charity.

Her Royal Highness has supported ChildLine for many years, and became their first Patron in 2005.