Kate Middleton Surprises Kindergarten Class with Breakfast — and Shares the Veggie Her Kids Love
Kate Middleton surprised a group of parents and their toddlers when she turned up at their kindergarten class on Wednesday.
The royal mom of three visited the LEYF (London Early Years Foundation) Stockwell Gardens Nursery & Preschool to promote her new groundbreaking survey aimed at parents, caregivers and teachers and nursery staff. The Duchess of Cambridge chose to arrive in the morning to highlight the importance of a nutritious breakfast for a child’s development.
Kate, who is mom to Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and 1-year-old Prince Louis, arrived as the preschoolers were gathering for their day. She heard about food provision from apprentices at the LEYF Early Years Chef Academy and helped nursery teachers serve breakfast to the children.
In the kitchen, Kate chatted about nutrition with the school’s trainee chefs. Nelson-Neil joked about beets, saying: “I still can’t get them to eat it.”
Kate, who previously shared that her kids have an adventurous taste in vegetables, said, “Mine absolutely love it – it’s one of those things, until you try it, you don’t know.”
She also met with staff to discuss her 5 Big Questions on the Under Fives survey, which more than 100,000 have taken since last week. The questions include topics such as nature vs. nurture, health and happiness. The results will help guide what is done to help vulnerable children and families for generations to come.
Princess Kate launched the survey last week during her whirlwind 24-hour, which had her meeting with children and parents across the U.K. — and confessing her own difficulties as a mom — in an innovative kindergarten and families’ center. She also met women in a prison to discuss how current and former inmates are rebuilding their lives.
The royal’s survey is being conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Kate and husband Prince William’s Royal Foundation, and aims to spark what her office calls the biggest ever conversation on kids’ development.
Kate poured cereal for the classmates, asking them to say “Stop” when there was enough in their bowls. She then pointed to a plate of orange, banana, grape and papaya, asking the kids, “What do you think of the fruit? What’s your favorite?”
Before leaving, she gave the girls high-fives before joining another group of children nearby.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE‘s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
When she was in Cardiff, Wales, last week, Kate told staff, “I see amazing work you’re doing here in so many areas,” she said. “It’s just bringing it to light. The critical work you’re doing has a massive social — and economic — impact later down the years.”
And she hopes the findings of the poll will help to focus her future work on the early years of kids. Throughout the last eight years, she has devoted much of her public work in trying to understand and help tackle the challenges children, their parents and carers face.
