Kate Middleton is known for her warm way with children, and one young girl who met her on a special field trip seemed to agree!
The Princess of Wales, 43, visited the National Portrait Gallery in London on Feb. 4 with a group of four and five-year-old schoolchildren to explore a new initiative for kids inspired by her Shaping Us campaign framework, which promotes greater awareness around social and emotional skills for a brighter society. Princess Kate was in her element with the kids from All Souls Church of England Primary School, and one little girl got especially attached!
The Princess of Wales surprised onlookers when she hopped off the bus with the students, walking into the museum that she backs as a patron while holding hands with a little girl named Grace. As seen in fan footage, Grace didn’t want to let go of Princess Kate’s hand when it was time for the royal to make a move. The young girl quickly switched from holding Kate’s left hand to right hand as the royal moved behind her. The sweet gesture brought a smile to Princess Kate’s face, and she stayed with Grace to hold her hand.
Cameras caught another adorable moment when Grace snuggled up to Princess Kate’s arm as another little girl stood close to Kate’s waist, prompting the princess to put an affectionate hand on her head and glance down at both kids.
The Princess of Wales — who shares Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, with her husband Prince William — often connects with children on royal outings, and the early years of life are a key focus in her work.
Kate visited the National Portrait Gallery with the kindergarten children on the opening day of the Bobeam Tree Trail, designed as an interactive journey through the gallery’s portraits to spark social and emotional learning. The project is the first of its kind to be created from the Shaping Us Framework from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood that Kate launched in 2021 to raise awareness around the importance of a child’s first five years of life and took that work to the next level with the debut of the Shaping Us campaign in 2023.
“We were absolutely delighted to be a place where the framework could be animated and brought to life,” Liz Smith, director of learning and engagement at the National Portrait Gallery, tells PEOPLE of the partnership.
“It was a regular school trip with a very special person on the bus,” Smith added about having Princess Kate as a special guest. “That was quite deliberate. It’s planned to be for children, and it can lose that magic if you have that formal launch.”
Smith says the kids were “really excited to be with her” and that she thinks they left an impression on the Princess of Wales as well.
“I think her opportunity to get down with them, to make portraits with them, to discover those stories and be one of the adults on a school trip was such a treat,” Smith says.
Princess Kate was “naturally nurturing and was listening and integrated with the group. She was one of the school party, and there was no official presentation. It was as if she was one of the mums, one of the helpers. And, as you are on a school trip, you’re learning as you’re walking and making sense of the environment. It was a real treat.”
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The Princess of Wales’ latest engagement came the day after she shared a personal message on the eve of World Cancer Day, along with a new picture by Prince Louis.
“Don’t forget to nurture all that which lies beyond the disease. C,” the royal wrote online on Feb. 3, using “C” as shorthand for her first name, Catherine.
Princess Kate was outside of the public eye for most of 2024 after announcing last March that she was undergoing treatment for cancer, and relayed with “relief” on Jan. 14 that she is in “remission.”
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