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Kate Middleton apologised to a little girl for 'not wearing a pretty dress' after the three-year-old said she had been looking forward to meeting 'a real princess' on a royal visit today.  

Rhian Costello and her daughter Annabel, 3, met the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, 37, while the royal couple visited the RNLI Mumbles Lifeboat Station in the Mumbles near Swansea this afternoon.

The mother said her young daughter was excited to meet a 'real princess' because she loves fairy tales and particularly Cinderella - and luckily the pair were able to greet the Duchess shortly after the Cambridges arrived at the pier.

But when Rhian explained to the Duchess that Annabel was looking forward to meeting royalty in the flesh, Kate apologised, saying: 'I'm really sorry I'm not wearing a pretty dress today.'

The three-year-old replied to the Duchess: 'I thought you'd look like Cinderella.'  

Rhian Costello and her daughter Annabel, three, met the Duchess of Cambridge during a royal visit to the Mumbles near Swansea today (Pictured: Kate greeting one little girl outside the RNLI Mumbles Lifeboat Station)

Excited! Kate Middleton looked animated as she spoke to one group of people who had waited to see the royals in Mumbles

I see you! The Duchess of Cambridge took time to high five several children before moving onto the next well-wishers

Children's princess! Schoolchildren clamored to high five the duchess as she stopped by on her walkabout in Mumbles

Wrapped up: Kate reached down to shake the hand of a woman who had been wrapped up in a Welsh flag in Mumbles

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent time greeting well-wishers in Mumbles despite the chilly temperature

Worth the wait: One group, who had queued for hours, were rewarded with a personal greeting from the Duchess in Mumbles

Shaking hands with royalty: Kate Middleton reached out to shake someone's hand as they shared their well-wishes

Made their day: The Duchess stopped to speak to a group of local schoolchildren who were at the seafront in Mumbles

Rhian said said her daughter was excited to meet a 'real princess' because she loves fairy tales and particularly Cinderella - and luckily the pair were able to greet the Duchess

When Rhian explained to the Duchess that Annabel was looking forward to meeting royalty in the flesh, Kate rushed to apologise that she wasn't 'wearing a pretty dress today' (Pictured: Kate with another child today)

Speaking to FEMAIL, Rhian recalled: 'My daughter and I met Kate Middleton today at Mumbles pier, where we waited an hour to see her. 

'My daughter loves fairy tales and Cinderella, and she was really excited to meet a real princess. 

'We had been really excited so decided to get down to the pier, my daughter's school were also there so we stood with them and chatted to other parents as we waited.'

Luckily for Rhian and Annabel, the royal couple's car came to a stop right in front of their group of well-wishers, and the Duchess came straight over to greet the pair.

'We were incredibly lucky her car came and stopped right in front of us and she came straight over to us', Rhian revealed. 

'I said, 'Thank you so much for coming to visit us in Wales.' And she said, 'We always like coming back to Wales since we lived in Anglesey'.'

Kate then took a moment to greet Annabel - who was in her mother's arms - and Rhian explained her daughter's excitement to meet a 'real princess' close to her home.

'Kate said 'I'm really sorry I'm not wearing a pretty dress today.' And Annabel said: 'I thought you'd look like Cinderella'', Rhian said.

Instead of a 'pretty dress', Kate was wearing a long, navy maxi coat from Hobbs - which retails for £349 - alongside a red knitted dress and a heart-print scarf

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared in particularly good spirits throughout their busy day of engagements today

Rhian explained that, despite not wearing a ballgown like Cinderella, Annabel was 'so taken' with the duchess and 'gave her a huge hug' (Pictured: The duchess greets a group of children outside the RNLI Mumbles Lifeboat Station) 

Three cheers for Wills and Kate! The royals were delighted by the warm reception they were given in Mumbles this afternoon

Prince charming: The Duke of Cambridge chatted to one woman as he made his way around the group in Mumbles today

Little princess: The Duchess of Cambridge looked thrilled to meet another little girl who braved the cold to see the royal

The royal couple appeared in high spirits as they beamed and laughed with lifeboat volunteers while hearing about the service in Mumbles 

Teamwork: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were never far from each other's sides as they walked around Mumbles 

Day by the sea: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the lifeboat station (pictured) before meeting well-wishers

Instead of a 'pretty dress', Kate was wearing a long, navy maxi coat from Hobbs - which retails for £349 - alongside a red knitted dress and a heart-print scarf.

Rhian explained that, despite not wearing a ballgown like Cinderella, Annabel was 'so taken' with the duchess and 'gave her a huge hug'.

'Kate was all smiles and very friendly. Annabel was so taken with her, she went up and gave her a huge hug and I was extremely surprised that Kate embraced her in such a way', she said.

'I hope in ten years Annabel can look back and realise what an amazing encounter this has been.'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had been visiting the RNLI station as part of a busy afternoon of engagements in South Wales, which saw them visit the Port Talbot Steelworks in blue and yellow overalls and a hard hat.   

The area's biggest employer and one of the most important across Wales - Tata Steel - welcomed the Cambridges to its Port Talbot plant to learn about its role in UK manufacturing - from food cans to warships and cars.

The couple wore protective clothing including hard hats, goggles and a jacket for their guided tour of the plant's Hot Strip Mill where some of its 4,000-strong workforce are employed.

She means business! After the ice cream parlour, William and Kate travelled to Port Talbot, where they visited the Tata Steel plant. The royal couple donned hardhats and boiler suits over their clothes for the outing

Seeing the funny side! Kate looked engaged at the Port Talbot Tata Steel plant (left) but still found reason to crack a smile

In control: William and Kate with Works Manager Car Banfield at the control centre of the Port Talbot Tata Steel plant 

Titans of industry: The royals met employees (pictured) and executives during their visit to the South Wales plant today

Learning: The Duke of Cambridge spoke to works manager Carl Banfield about an aspect of the plant during the visit today

At work: The Duchess of Cambridge talks with works manager Carl Banfield during a visit to Tata Steel in Port Talbot

The royals watched as ingots of steel were heated and passed through rollers which reduced their size in a process that produced a loud rumble and huge plumes of steam as the metal, glowing orange and radiating blistering heat, was coiled up.

In the control room, known as the pulpit, the couple chatted to staff about the process and were told the steel they saw was being reduced to five millimetres in thickness would be used be used in car manufacturing.

Tata announced in November it would be cutting up to 1,000 UK jobs, part of a total reduction of up to 3,000 across Europe. The UK steel industry has battled against a glut of steel on the world market and other problems.

Before leaving, William chatted to Tata apprentices and told them: 'Tata treat you well, that must settle some of your fears.'      

The couple also visited an ice cream parlour, where they met local families and Kate was surprised by two of her prep school teachers.

The duchess hugged Denise Evans-Allford and husband Kevin Allford who had travelled from their home in Carmarthen to meet Kate - the first time they have seen her in 24 years.

They both taught Kate, as well as siblings Pippa and James, at St Andrew's prep school in Pangbourne, Berkshire. Mrs Evans-Allford taught PE at the school, while Mr Allford taught French and German to Kate.

Prince William and Kate could be seen speaking animatedly to fellow parents at the ice cream parlour as they discussed the Duchess' landmark survey on the early years

The Duke of Cambridge appeared overjoyed to be sampling the local ice cream at the parlour in Mumbles earlier today 

Passion project: During the visit to Joe's Ice Cream Parlour, the Duchess of Cambridge spoke to parents and families who have already taken part in her landmark early years development survey. Kate looked pleased to be speaking to the group, pictured

Sweet treat! The trio were reintroduced outside Joe's Ice Cream Parlour where William and Kate had stopped by to sample the chocolate and vanilla flavours (pictured) and meet local parents 

 Fond memories: The Allfords, who were both house parents, described the Middleton children as 'wonderful' at school

Fancy seeing you here! Kate, 38, exclaimed it is 'such a small world' as she made her way over to Mr Allford and Mrs Evans-Allford, pictured centre, who had passed a note to her security detail to explain the connection

Kate exclaimed 'it's such a small world' after seeing her old teachers following a visit to Joe's ice cream parlour, run by the fifth generation of a family originally from Italy, where the duke and duchess were served sweet treats and met parents who had completed Kate's early years survey.

The final stop for the duke and duchess was Port Talbot's Bulldogs Boxing & Community Activities centre, where they spoke to children being helped through tough upbringings and mental health issues by boxing and fitness.

Kate took part in a teamwork exercise with some of the children, where the group stood in a line holding sections of a pipe and steered a small orange ball from one end to the other.

The duchess was forced to poke the ball from her section into one held by a young girl next to her after getting into difficulty and joked: 'Slight cheating.'

Club member Jasmine, nine, was approached by Kate after the exercise and spoke about using the centre.

Jasmine said afterwards: 'She said it was nice coming to visit us. I told her, 'You should never give up, you should persevere', which is what they teach us here. You keep on trying and never give up.'

Samantha Fox, project co-ordinator at Bulldog Boxing, praised the royal couple for making the young members 'feel really at ease' and said the gifts of boxing gloves and pads was 'the most appropriate thing' to give them.

She said: 'They were asking the young people about what they do here, asking what activities they take part in. They were really engaging, which is fantastic.'

A comforting hand: The Duchess spent time speaking to one young girl during the visit to the Port Talbot boxing club today

Team Cambridge! The couple at the club which helps children affected by adverse experiences and mental health issues

Getting in the ring: The Duchess of Cambridge spoke to children who benefit from the support of the boxing club 

Oops! Things went awry during the activity, left. Right, the Duchess of Cambridge holds a pair of gloves at the boxing gym

Getting stuck in! The Duchess joins in a team activity during a visit to the Bulldogs boxing club in Port Talbot this afternoon

Fun and games: Kate and Brooke first met at a team-building game called Gutterball where participants have to coordinate and work together to get a ball to move along a line of gutters and into a box