Members of a Zulu royal family will attend a musical remembrance evening at Putley Village Hall.

The event will raise money for the hospital on St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic.

Folk singer John Noden, who used to perform at the village hall and folk festivals in Bromyard and Upton, retired to St Helena in 2000 with his wife Maglan, also known as Princess Dina Zulu.

The royal Dina Zulu family were exiled to St Helena by the Victorians after the Zulu wars. Mrs Noden, who worked as a nurse in the UK, grew up on the island and wished to spend her retirement years there.

But when Mr Noden became sick the limited medical resources at Jamestown Hospital meant he had to return to the UK and Bristol Hospital, where he was told he had advanced lung and stomach cancer.

The couple later went back to St Helena, where Mr Noden died just before Christmas.

Close friend Rose Allard, who nursed with Mrs Noden for 40 years, remembered how the couple had held their wedding reception at Putley Village Hall two decades ago and how it was a special place for them.

Now she and a group of friends are organising a "Remembering John" folk music session at the venue on Saturday, April 8 at 3pm.

It will be attended by Princess Dina Zulu's sons from a previous marriage, Alistair and Andrew. Their mother will not be there, as she is still living on St Helena.

Mrs Allard, who several years ago visited the Nodens on the island, where Napoleon was also exiled after Waterloo, said: "None of us could get to John's funeral, but there are a lot of his friends who wanted to be there so we are organising this event."

To get to St Helena to visit her old friends, Mrs Allard had to fly to Cape Town then catch the RMS St Helena for a five-day sea journey to the island, where she found John and Maglan waiting for her at the harbour.

Mrs Allard said: "Maglan is a lovely person. If you had known her as long as I have, you would never think she was a princess."

To get the ball rolling, local painter Eric Bottomley and folk night regulars at the Slip Tavern, in Much Marcle, have already donated a cheque for £1,000.