TEAMING UP WITH GIOVANNA FLETCHER THE PRINCESS OF WALES IS ON GLITTERING FORM AS SHE DRESSES A CHRISTMAS GROTTO AT A BABY BANK

With a month to go before she celebrates Christmas with her own children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the Princess of Wales got into the festive spirit on a visit to a baby bank.

- EMILY NASH

She helped to dress a Christmas grotto at Sebby's Corner in Barnet, North London, joining volunteers including podcaster Giovanna Fletcher - a champion of Kate's Shaping Us early years campaign - to stack shelves with toys and add decorative bows, giggling as she got glitter on her face.

The Princess, who will host her now annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey on 8 December, also donated 50 copies of Jill Tomlinson's The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark - the book she read on CBeebies Bedtime Stories in February last year.

HELPING HAND

Wearing a black roll-neck top and a long brown skirt with boots, she visited the organisation to highlight the vital role of baby banks in supporting families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

She also launched an initiative by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to encourage people to support their local baby banks in the run-up to Christmas by donating money, products or pre-loved items, or volunteering their time.

VITAL ROLE