Kate Middleton knows the perfect thing to say at any occasion.
For her first engagement back from maternity leave, Kate spent some quality time outdoors with a group of young students from St. Stephen’s School in London on Tuesday.
While most of the children seemed to be captivated by the Duchess of Cambridge’s presence, one inquisitive little girl was apparently more concerned about the photographers who were there snapping photos of the day’s events.
“Why are they picturing you?” the little girl asked Kate, 36, in footage obtained by The Royal Family Channel.
Without missing a beat, the royal mom-of-three sweetly responded, “They’re picturing you cause you’re special!” as she grabbed ahold of the little girl’s hand and walked towards a picnic table with her.
Kate also interacted with another little girl, Anwaar, during the outing who did her best to impress her royal visitor.
Sitting down on a log next to the excited group of children for storytime, Kate watched with amusement as the 4-year-old cuddled up to her and attempted to drink from her purple cup without using her hands.
Kate couldn’t help but laugh, as the student threw her head back with the cup in her mouth and then yelled out: “More!”
The young girl, who Headteacher Simon Atkinson said had chattered eagerly all day about meeting “the princess,” lovingly admired a casual-dressed Kate while sitting alongside her.
Zoe Stroud, interim Head of Sayers Croft Forest School, said Kate “was lovely — although she said the only mini beast she managed to find on the hunt was a slug! But she did see a frog under a log.”
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“She really gets what we are doing here and said she often takes her children on spider hunts in their garden, which they love,” Stroud added. “They can spend hours out there.”
As mom to Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and 6-month-old Prince Louis, Kate knows how to charm a group of children. During Prince William’s charity polo match over the summer, the royal used the ultimate mom hack during George and Charlotte’s playdate.
“Kate is a fantastic mum,” an onlooker at the match told PEOPLE. “She was calm with the children.”
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At one point, “She seemed to say to [George and Charlotte], ‘First to the polo field is the winner!'” the observer added. “She was trying to get them tired before they had to get back in the car to leave.”
Kate, who has embraced the life of royal country wife and mother, also previously confirmed that she goes on “spider hunts” with George and Charlotte in their garden “for hours.”
Ever since Kate and William set up their country home in the rural county of Norfolk in 2014, the couple has been hosting parties at the magnificent Anmer Hall and taking part in the annual shoots around Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate.
