CROWN GREEN
The Duchess of Cambridge, on her first solo official outing since her maternity leave, joins schoolchildren in paper crowns for a “bug hunt” in a London park. Kate told teachers she had got used to looking for insects with her own children in their garden.
AS THE mother of young children, she is used to hunting for spiders and other creatures in her garden, and yesterday, as she stepped back into the spotlight following her maternity leave, the Duchess of Cambridge, extended her catchment area.
Kate, whose youngest son, Prince Louis, is just over five months old, crouched in bushes with youngsters at the Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden in London’s Paddington.
The Duchess, on her first solo official visit since her time off, told teachers there that she hunts for spiders “for hours” with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and now Prince Louis.
When she arrived at Paddington Recreation Ground, Kate was presented with posies by four-year-old Janine from St Augustine’s Primary School on Kilburn Park Road. The Duchess smiled and laughed with children as they completed their seed planting, and then helped them draw water from the tap. She also joined children from St Stephen’s CE Primary School as they listened to a story called
The Monkey Queen, read to them by Sayers Croft forest school leader, Jennie Miles.
Ms Miles enlisted the help of the Duchess when handing out cups of juice to the children and in distributing paper from which they could make crowns. Kate then helped them find leaves for their crowns, before they lined up to say goodbye to her, shaking her hand and giving her a hug.
Zoe Stroud, the interim head at Sayers Croft, said the Duchess “loved getting amongst the ivy” and spotted a frog.
She added: “The Duchess asked parents questions about whether they found a change in their children, in their ability to work together, in their selfesteem.”
She said the children knew who they were speaking to. “They’re not that shy, but they do know she’s a princess.”
They’re not that shy, but they do know she’s a princess. Zoe Stroud, the interim head at Sayers Croft forest school.