THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE is a busy bee on a visit to the Natural History Museum
CREATES A BUZZ WITH CHILDREN AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
The Duchess of Cambridge once again proved she is the queen bee of gardening, sharing a sweet treat from her Anmer Hall beehive with schoolchildren last week.
Kate surprised the youngsters with a taste of her home-produced honey at the wildlife garden at London’s Natural History Museum while they were learning about biodiversity.
“Would you like to try some? I’ve got one spoon each,” she said, handing out wooden spoons to the pupils from St Mary of the Angels primary school. “This came specially from my beehive.
“See if it tastes the same as at home. Does it taste like honey from the shops? Does it taste like flowers?”
Looking relaxed in high- street jeans from & Other Stories, a pair of Veja trainers and a salmon- pink Chloé blazer, the Duchess told the children: “Every time you see a bee, say: ‘Thank you so much,’ because they make delicious honey.”
NATURAL WONDER
Showing her natural flair with young children, Kate sat down in the grounds with the pupils, who were all aged five and six, asking their names and admiring the toy spiders they were making from pine cones.
Creating her own eight- legged friend, she told the children: “I’m going to call my spider Cuddles.”
The Duchess also joined in an immersive storytelling walk led by Mama D Ujuaje, the co-founder of London collective Community Centred Knowledge.
It was as they walked that Kate asked the group of children if they knew where bees get their nectar from before producing her own jar of Norfolk honey.
Visiting in her role as patron
‘Would you like to try some? I’ve got one spoon each. This came specially from my beehive’
‘See if it tastes the same as at home. Does
it taste like honey
from the shops? Does it taste like flflowers?’
of the museum, Kate also heard how i t s grounds are being transformed into a five-acre Urban Nature Project, featuring outdoor classrooms, a “living lab” and a weatherproof version of the museum’s diplodocus skeleton cast, nicknamed Dippy.
In addition, the project will also work with partners to deliver science and learning programmes to young people, schools and families across the UK.
Speaking to head of activities Lauren Hyams, Kate said: “I was just saying how lovely it is to have this little oasis.”
GARDEN OF DELIGHTS
The Duchess later heard from museum director Dr Doug Gurr about how the site is helping visitors to reconnect with the natural world and find the solutions urgently needed to protect the planet.
“Biodiversity, especially in urban
‘I was just saying
how lovely it is to
have this little oasis’
settings, is under threat like never before,” he said.
“To sur v i v e , it needs young people t o grow up with a desire to protect it.”
Before leaving, Kate helped staff fix an acoustic recording device to a cherry tree to help scientists study patterns of bird, mammal and insect activity within the garden.
The Duchess is a huge supporter of the Natural History Museum and has made private visits with her children Prince George, eight in July, Princess Charlotte, six, and three-year-old Prince Louis, who she says “adore” going there.
It was the setting for George’s official first birthday photographs, which were taken on a visit to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition in 2014.
‘Every time you see a bee, say: “Thank
you so much,” because they make
delicious honey’
‘She was so curious, wanting to know about the research we had done, which fifits in with her own research-based work on early years’
Speaking after Kate’s visit, Clare Matterson, the museum’s executive director of engagement, said: “The fantastic thing is that she is so interested in nature and learning and children and that’s what this project is all about. She’s so engaged, there was lots of nice synergy. She was so curious, wanting to know about the science and research we had done, which fits in with her own research-based work on the early years.”
It also emerged the Duchess asked John Tweddle, head of the museum’s Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, for help in identifying a bee she had spotted at Anmer Hall.
A HIVE OF ACTIVITY
Bees have long played a part in Kate’s life – in 2011, she and her family clubbed together to buy her brother James Middleton a colony of 1,000 Buckfast bees as a birthday present when he turned 24.
In a documentary with Sir David Attenborough last year, the Duke of Cambridge told how George, Charlotte and Louis loved watching bees making honey – although it was not known the family had their own hives – saying: “Seeing my children, seeing the passion in their eyes and the love for being outdoors. They find a bug or they love watching how bees are forming the honey.”
The Duchess is not the only royal beekeeper: the Queen has hives at Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and Balmoral.
Kate’s father-in-law the Prince of Wales also produces his own honey at Highgrove and Birkhall, while his wife the Duchess of Cornwall has nine hives at her private home, Raymill House in Wiltshire, and sells what’s produced at Fortnum & Mason for charity.
Meanwhile, Kate was last week announced as patron of the Forward Trust, which merged with Action on Addiction – one of her first patronages in 2012 – in May.
“With the link between early childhood trauma and addiction becoming more widely understood, it is more important than ever that we focus on these issues so that we can create a happier, healthier more nurturing society,” she said.
H‘The Duchess is so interested in nature and learning and children and that’s what this project is all about’