Cuddle me Kate... bear hug for the duchess
SOMETIMES a formal handshake won’t cut it and only a hug will do, as the Duchess of Cambridge discovered yesterday when she met a group of schoolchildren.
As pregnant Kate, 6, prepared to leave Bond Primary School in Mitcham, South West London, after her visit, pupils lined up politely to bid her farewell.
But when she leaned down to shake hands with the first child hild in i the th queue, th the little girl reached out for a cuddle instead – and Kate was happy to oblige.
The girl’s classmates followed her lead and each gave the duchess a hug farewell, much to her delight.
Kate was at the school to see the work of the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, a community programme run by the All England E l dCl Club. b When Wh she h met t children involved in the initiative, she shared a high-five greeting with one of them.
She had practised her high five earlier in the day when she met four-year-old Rafael Chana, who is awaiting a heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
As they chatted, Rafael told the duchess about his love of olives and she replied: ‘I love olives. Are they your favourite? What do you prefer – olives or sweeties?’
He replied that he preferred olives and Kate said: ‘Olives over sweeties! Amazing! I used to eat lots and lots of olives when I was little. They’re very good for you.’
The duchess told Rafael that her twoyear-old daughter Princess Charlotte is also a fan of olives, served with pasta.