Nurtured By Nature

The Cambridge kids get a healthy dose of outdoor fun

- Sophie Neville

As they joined their delighted children in an enchanted woodland playground last week, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked much like any other parents enjoying the outdoors with their little ones. But this was no ordinary outing for the royal family of five – the images of the little heirs happily playing barefoot in nature have provided a rare glimpse into the private world of Prince William and Kate’s adorable offspring.

In a departure from the overly orchestrated formal engagements the children are usually seen at, this one saw hidden cameras capturing Prince George, five, Prince Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one, exploring the Back to Nature garden, designed by their mum for the Chelsea Flower Show.

Taking his first public steps, adorable Louis totters towards the camera with a huge smile and Charlotte is heard to excitedly exclaim “ooh la la” as she looks upon her mother’s handiwork. And little George tells his handson dad that he gave the garden a mark of 20 out of 10. “That’s pretty good – I think Mummy’s done well,” a proud William says, before asking his daughter to give him a push on a rope swing.

Kate’s garden, which she has worked on secretly with landscape architects for the past three months, was created to highlight the positive benefits gained from spending time in nature. Her hope was that families would be inspired to get outdoors and spend time together.

“I really feel that nature and being interactive outdoors has huge benefits on our physical and mental wellbeing – particularly for young children,” she said in an interview last week, adding that parents should spend as much “quality time” with their children as they can to help their development.