PRINCESS Eugenie labelled a Stanmore hospital “one of the best in the world” on a tour with the Duke of York today.

The Princess is a former patient at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), in Brockley Hill, where in 2002 she was treated for scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

She joined her father, Prince Andrew, patron of the RNOH, for a walk around the children's ward as part of the campaign to raise money to rebuilt the facility.

She told the Harrow Times: “The hospital needs the amount of money it takes to make it better than it already is.

“My life would be hugely different without it. I wouldn't look the way I do. My back would be arched over and I wouldn't be able to talk about it and help children who have had the same problem.

“No one really knows that I've had it so they look and see me and they know that the treatment actually works.”

She spoke to Kara Hales, 13, from Kent, who has had a similar operation on her back but is still recovering in a hospital bed.

Mum Stella Hales, 49, said: “It was really nice to know she had her back done the same. It's a similar operation and she can do everything.

“That's the worry – that you are not going to be able to.”

Kara said: “It's nice to know that she's alright.”

Princess Eugenie said: “I think the visit was really good for me. It reminds me what I was like but for them, they think 'in a couple of days I will be walking again. Look at her she can walk.'”

Prince Andrew spoke to 12-year-old Katie Krzyzanowski, from Somerset, who is also being treated for scoliosis.

She said: “It was good to meet the Prince, he was really nice and friendly. We talked about what happened to me and he asked me how I was.”