ROYAL TOUR SPECIAL
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE
AS HELLO! JOINS HER IN DENMARK
MEETS CROWN PRINCESS MARY ON HER FIRST OVERSEAS TOUR IN TWO YEARS
The Duchess of Cambridge slid into action last week as she charmed Denmark with fun and laughter – and her bond with Crown Princess Mary.
Kate has made the wellbeing of young children the focus of her public work, so she was in her element on her two-day mission to Copenhagen to find out how Denmark raises some of the world’s happiest and healthiest youngsters.
It was the first time she had brought the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to the international stage. But it wasn’t all work and no play and there was plenty of time for light-hearted moments. One highlight saw the future Queen whizz down a giant slide in high heels, while another saw her admit she was feeling “very broody” after meeting an eight-month-old baby. Here, we bring you all the top tour moments...
Kate was on mission to find out how Denmark raises happy, healthy youngsters
Giggling, the Duchess makes an elegant exit
out of a slide at the Lego Foundation’s Play Lab on the first day of her visit to Denmark
‘My children are very jealous. They were like: “Hang on, there’s Lego and we’re not coming?”’
SLIDING INTO ACTION AS THOUGHTS TURN TO BABIES
DAY ONE
With a huge smile on her face and her hands outstretched in excitement, the Duchess of Cambridge got in touch with her inner child at the Lego Foundation’s Play Lab.
Told some staff used the slide instead of the stairs, Kate handed her bag to an aide and said she should do the same.
Giggling after whizzing down a 20ft slide between floors, she executed an elegant landing in her high-heeled shoes before telling a reporter: “You stood far enough away! In the spirit of where I am, I had to do it.”
Kate also revealed her children, Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and three-year-old Prince Louis were envious of her visit to the foundation, where childcare students are trained to help youngsters use play to develop skills for life.
“My children are very jealous they weren’t coming to see the Lego Foundation. They were like: ‘Hang on, there’s Lego and we’re not coming?’” she said.
Kate added she spent part of the half-term break building Lego with the youngsters. “I spent this weekend trying to build a water-filled construction and trying to find all the green bits. I was like: ‘This is good training,’” she said.
The Duchess had been keen to learn about the Play Lab’s Playful Learning Programme, a collaboration between six Danish universities and the Lego Foundation to enhance children’s social and emotional development.