The Princess of Wales reminisced about her early days as a mum as she helped sort newborn baby clothes as she made a surprise appearance at a baby bank.
Kate joined volunteers at The Baby Bank in Maidenhead this morning, where she helped fold tiny baby clothes and remarked how she forgot how small infants can be.
Meanwhile, she also told staff at the centre that she could not believe her youngest son Prince Louis has already turned five after he celebrated his birthday yesterday.
The princess, dressed in a cream blazer over a white top, was shown the piles of bags and boxes of clothes, toys and equipment received at The Baby Bank.
She peppered the charity's joint CEOs, Rebecca Mistry and Lauren Hall, with questions about their set up and local demand.
Rebecca explained how they try to match up donations with specific children so they don’t feel like they are relying on random hand-outs.
"Have you seen the needs of families change recently?", Kate asked, surprised to discover that while they had seen a huge rise in need, this has not been matched by donations.
"People are hanging onto what they have or passing it to friends or selling things like buggies for a little cash," Lauren explained.
"What items are hard to come by?", Kate enquired. Nappies, buggies and bigger items such as single beds, she was told.
"There is community support out there but it’s knowing where to go to get that support. And there is a stigma that exists sometimes, isn’t there," she asked.
Kate examined a large pile of boxes that had been donated by Mattel containing Buzz Lightyear toys. "Oh yes, my daughter is a huge fan of Toy Story," the princess said.
She was interested to hear about The Baby Bank's reach as "people might not initially think it's a primary need area".
Rebecca then told her: "Well if you don’t mind we will take you upstairs to help us sort some stuff out." "Yes please!" Kate enthused.
Faced with huge piles of donated clothes which needed to be sorted out into age categories, with less good quality or stained clothes discarded, she said: "This must be one of the more time consuming elements."
Chatting with volunteers, she joked: "I’m not going to double check your work, don’t worry. It’s actually very hard, some of them don’t have labels on them. Would you be looking for the quality of the items donated?
She remarked on how tiny the clothes were, saying Louis, had turned five the previous day. "It only feels like yesterday that they were this tiny. They do grow so quickly."
The princess was also keen to talk about the importance of volunteering and The Big Help Out, an event being held on May 8 as part of the Coronation celebrations to encourage people to get out and volunteer in their communities.
She said: "It’s important for people to know that you don’t have to commit to a full day, if you can have a slot in the morning. It's match-making people within the community who want to go and do something with the right organisation."
Lauren replied: "We are open three days a week and we say to people if you can only give an hour, absolutely fine. If you want to stay until lunch, which is what a lot of people do, then that’s good too. We have 20 volunteers without whom we couldn't operate."
Kate added: "I do think it stops people, this feeling that they have to commit to a big chunk of time. They are nervous about committing. When you see the volume of stock here you can see that every hour helps."
One volunteer admitted she helps out for a few hours before going to the gym. The princess piped up: "No, you are absolutely right, you shouldn’t feel bad. People have busy lives. It’s fine not to commit yourself and work out what you can fit in with your busy day to day life."
As she sorted through the clothes, Rebecca told her that many people felt broody when they saw how tiny they were and joked: "Whereas I look at them and think I don’t want to go through that again."
The princess laughed and said: "I’ve been there and done that."
Before she left the princess sat down and chatted with some of the bank’s volunteers as well as local midwives and health visitors who are instrumental in referring families to it for help.
She was told about how some families get incredibly emotional when they are given clothes, food and equipment for their families.
Before she left the Princess promised to return one day with her own three children - or "perhaps my helpful ones and not my unhelpful ones!"
