Bear hugs and a bug hunt as Duchess goes back to the day job
FOR most, the return to work after maternity leave is a chance to escape the clutches of young children and their unpredictable antics.
But for the Duchess of Cambridge, getting back to official duties yesterday, five months after the birth of Prince Louis, must have had a rather familiar feel.
Surrounded by lively four- and fiveyear-olds at a London forest school, the mother of three was effusively hugged, presented with a pendant fashioned from a slice of wood and gamely joined in with a mini-beast hunt.
She was referred to by one enthusiastic young fan as “your majesty” and giggled when another gravely assured her that her tour of the Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden in Paddington, west London, would not involve any “boring bits”.
The Duchess, who has largely stayed out of the public eye since giving birth to Prince Louis on April 23, revealed that she liked to go on “spider hunts” with Prince George, five, and Princess Charlotte, three, who could spend hours in the garden.
But despite her considerable experience, she admitted that she had only managed to spot a slug and a frog during the 90-minute visit.
Dressed casually in skinny jeans, a grey jumper, khaki jacket and her favourite Penelope Chilvers knee-high boots, the 36-year-old appeared to be sporting a new, shorter hairstyle. Her £395 blouse, from Joseph, was fittingly adorned with a flower bud print.
The Duchess could not help but laugh at the behaviour of the young children, who have little regard for protocol at the best of times.
On arrival, she was presented with a posy by four-year-old Janine Osman, who enveloped her in a massive hug.
‘They’re not that shy, but they do know she’s a princess. [The school] is really important for children who live in council flats’
Greeted by children from St Augustine’s Church of England Primary School in Kilburn, west London, she laughed as they revealed their favourite thing about forest school was “eating”. Anwaar, four, from St Stephen’s Church of England School in Westbourne Park, west London, made a beeline for her, also showing no qualms about initiating a cuddle, before larking around with her plastic cup as she sat alongside the Duchess, balancing it in her mouth.
When four-year-old Mason asked if he could show her where they got their water, Kate suggested they go together before he led her to the tap, wielding a blue plastic watering can.
The pair were interrupted by Lanwe, also four, who had made a pendant from a thin slice of wood and was keen to give it to the royal.
“Have you made another one?” the Duchess asked.
“It’s for you,” Lanwe replied proudly, adding: “I’m going to make her three.”
When she left, the children lined up wearing leaf crowns and wrapped the Duchess in big bear hugs.
Zoe Stroud, the interim head at Sayers Croft, said the children were aware of their royal visitor’s credentials. “They’re not that shy, but they do know she’s a princess,” she said. Speaking about their work, Ms Stroud said: “It’s really important for the schools and children who live in council flats and have no outside space at home.”
The Duchess will have a few engagements throughout the rest of the year as she gradually adapts back to life as a working royal, and will be working full time again from the new year, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Prince George has just returned to Thomas’s Battersea for his second school year, while Princess Charlotte attends Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington.