Princess Kate and Prince William, both 41, were in Scotland for a busy day of events surrounding their mission to improve mental health.
At the Burghead Primary School, they took part in Outfit Moray, a charity delivering life-changing outdoor learning and adventure activity programs — from mountain biking and paddle sports to rock climbing, and archery — to young people.
In addition to sporting helmets and navigating a bike course filled with obstacles themselves, Kate and William also saw the students mount their bicycles for some fun.
When one young boy fell off his bike, Princess Kate was quick to comfort him. Kneeling to his level, she rubbed his back and told him he was “so brave,” as seen in a video shared on X by Greatest Hits Radio News.
After asking where his bike was, the royal encouraged him to “give it another go.”
Martin Collins, the acting head of the primary school, told MFR News and Sport that Princess Kate was “really just involved with the boys and girls.”
“One of the boys fell over as well, and she was really — sort of came to him and nudged him back, so that was really nice to see,” he added.
Children spoke with the outlet about their experiences interacting with Prince William and Princess Kate. One girl said they asked about the children’s favorite sports, adding, “Prince William likes football.”
The students added that Kate was still recovering from injuring her hand on the trampoline during a play session with her kids.
“She said that she couldn’t give too many fist bumps or high fives ’cause it hurt,” a boy said.
With Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, Kate is a doting parent — even during royal events. When Charlotte took a tumble on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour in 2018, the royal was quick to scoop up her daughter and comfort her — and it wasn’t long before Charlotte was back to smiling and waving to the crowd.
“Kate is a fantastic mum,” an onlooker at a charity polo match in 2018 told PEOPLE. “She was calm with the children.” Using a British phrase for “run loose,” the onlooker says, “She let them have their head.”
And even with other children, Princess Kate is in her element.
When Kate came across a young boy who looked sick during a royal outing in Coventry in January 2018, she immediately sprang into action. “Princess Kate came over and gave him a sickbag, our little Craig,” Carole Flynn, a learning mentor at Corpus Christi Primary School, said. “I think he was a little bit overcome.”
“He went quite pale,” Flynn added. “She came over to speak to him and noticed he was not very well. She asked if he was okay. She bent down and was concerned.”
With her natural ease around children, it’s no surprise that Princess Kate has made the early years of a person’s life one of the key focuses of her royal work.
