Family In Crisis Kate Gets Down With The Kids

It’s business as usual for the duchess of Cambridge as William and Harry prepare to put their differences aside to unveil a tribute to their beloved mother Diana

- Kirsty Nutkins

The royal family appears to be feeling the strain as relations between Princes William and Harry sour further ahead of the unveiling of a new statue in memory of Princess Diana on Thursday. But one person managing to maintain her sunny disposition is the Duchess of Cambridge.

She was in high spirits at the Natural History Museum in London last week, surrounded by children from St Mary of the Angels Primary School and making toy spiders in the wildlife garden. Sweetly, she offered the children a chance to sample some of the honey collected from the beehives at her Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall.

Visiting the day after her husband’s 39th birthday, Kate learnt how communities across the UK will benefit from the museum’s Urban Nature Project aimed at helping find solutions to protecting the planet. With the aid of other UK museums and wildlife organisations, the idea is to create a thriving urban nature movement in Britain’s towns and cities, and provide practical tools for supporting the wildlife around us.

Dressed casually in cropped jeans from & Other Stories and a salmon-pink Chloé blazer, she appeared carefree and happy, as body language expert Derek Heron notes.

“Kate is in her element as she chats to the adults and children around her. Her sleeves are rolled up in a casual manner reflecting her informal mind-set, putting those around her at ease. She has dropped all formality as she sits crossed-legged on the decking in her jeans and blazer,” he says.