Kate Middletonis enjoying the company of some little museum-goers!
Kate chatted with students from the Globe Primary School, who enthusiastically welcomed her to the space.
“Our children are super keen to talk to the Princess of Wales during her visit@young_vam,” the schoolshared on Twitter. “This is not a typical Wednesday morning for them!”
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, tells PEOPLE that Kate’s interactions with the youngsters were “brilliant.” The play session “is about collaboration and cooperation and communication — all of the things that have been under such pressure in COVID. This space is where children can get together and have to work together through play.”
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
He chuckles at the thought of the children’s innocent but sometimes drawn-out tales, “chapter after chapter. She was very very generous listening to their stories,” Hunt says. “As you can imagine, she was encouraging. She wanted to know what objects they were drawing upon in the gallery.” There was a boy who brought along a police Tardis box, and one had a Samurai uniform. “They talked about the connection between those and the storytelling.”
Kate Middleton opens The Young V&A on June 28.Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty Images
In addition to being shown things at the museum and posing for a group photo with the children, Princess Kate was seen getting bombarded with hugs.
“They wanted to hug her a lot,” Hunt adds, saying the Princess of Wales was “suitably responsive."
Kate began her tour in the Play Gallery, which is designed to provide a sensory landscape for toddlers and draws on how infants experience the world.
She was then led to an area called The Arcade, where teenagers can explore the history and process of video game and board game design.
Next, in the Design Gallery, Kate was shown how innovative objects are designed and how design has the power to make a positive impact on the world. The gallery will also put on workshops for young people to escape and create, inspiring the new thinkers of tomorrow.
In the Imagine Gallery, she was shown some spaces designed to encourage creative expression through performance, storytelling, imagination and community — and where kids can put on costumes to dress up and act in their own shows.
Hunt said that Kate was interested in the museum because of how it fits in with her work via her Royal Foundation Centre of Early Childhood, which is focused “on the resilience and early years development.”
“She’s interested in this space not only as a parent and as an art historian but also because of the centre’s work on early years’ development this has a number of touch points and interests for her,” he explains. “What this place is about is how you create cultural confidence and creative enjoyment in the early years through objects and design and play and imagination.”
“She’d been here in the past when it was the Museum of Childhood so understood the difference from a museum which was about the social history of childhood to [what is] a museum for children and a museum for encouraging play and imagination in young people," Hunt continues. “Because she’s across the research on this, she understood what we’re trying to do with the museum and texture and the importance of learning through play. All of these elements are part of her agenda.”Having her there was not only important “because she’s the royal patron,” Hunt adds. “But because of her work on the early years and the leadership and conversation, she’s providing through the Centre for Early Childhood. Her message is, ‘Yes, cognitive development is really important in the early years but so also is socio-emotional resilience — so how do you build up self-control and those social skills in the early years.’ "
Kate Middleton opens The Young V&A on June 28.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
The look combined two of Kate’s go-to fashion trends of late: recycling previously worn summer ensembles (just yesterday,she gave new life to another recent Wimbledon look) andBarbiecore. Thepink aesthetichas become a fashion staple among celebrities — aligning with thehighly-anticipatedBarbiefilmstarringMargot Robbieslated to premiere on July 21.
The royal mom of three also favors pink at children-centric events. She memorably promised young cancer patient Mila Sneddon that she would wear the little girl’s favorite color when they met, andKate came through on the promiseat the Palace of Holyroodhouse for their first meeting. (Mila also dressed for the occasion, sporting her own pink ensemble and tiara!)
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On Tuesday, the royal alsostepped out to shine a spotlighton a pioneering program dedicated to keeping women in the justice system with their children.
source: people.com
