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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Kate Middleton hugs her old teacher and makes admission about Princess Charlotte

The Princess of Wales had a surprise meeting with her former teacher on a royal engagement today - and made a heartwarming admission about Princess Charlotte.

It came as she and Prince William made their first official visit to Cornwall together today since receiving special new titles

The couple visited the National Maritime Museum Cornwall during an afternoon of engagements in the harbour town of Falmouth.

Kate looked elegant in a chestnut brown coat from Hobbs and sported a red dress underneath teamed with warm heeled boots.

And after a tour of the museum, the royal couple were greeted by cheering crowds, with Kate surprised by Jim Embury, a former teacher from her prep school.

Kate recognises her former teacher Jim Embury on a visit to Cornwall today (CORNWALL LIVE/BPM MEDIA)
Kate gave the teacher a hug (Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)

Kate said "Oh my goodness" and hugged Mr Embury, now a volunteer at the museum, before exclaiming: "I do recognise you."

"I remember the classroom and everything," she told him. "Are you based here now? And you are volunteering here? Wow. That is such a small world.

"I’m trying to teach my daughter all the things you probably taught me."

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Embury said he taught Kate history in the mid 1990s.

William plays with a toddler (Getty Images)
Kate poses for a selfie with fans (Getty Images)

When asked what sort of pupil she was, he replied: "I have to say fantastic. It was a great class and she was a great participant and a great kid. It was 25 years ago."

Inside the museum, William and Kate met volunteers working on boats including the Kiwi, a 14ft sailing dinghy presented to the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as a wedding present.

The couple tried their hand at riveting on a Helford Delta Class boat dating back to the 1940s, made of mahogany and oak.

William said: “It’s probably safer if you show us, we don’t want to be the ones who put a hole in it.”

The couple take part in a boat building workshop (Getty Images)
Kate helps children take part in a model boat race (Getty Images)

As they lined up to have a go, he told his wife: “Make sure you do the right one, it’s a bit like that Only Fools And Horses sketch with the chandeliers.”

He said: “Are you ready Catherine?” before hitting the rivet with a hammer, while Kate held a heavy cast steel dolly underneath. She replied: “Oh my goodness.”

The couple swapped, with William telling onlookers: “If she sinks we were never here, you never saw us.”

They then met people supported by Young and Talented Cornwall, which provides financial support to young people in the county.

Kate joins in with the Hokey Cokey (PA)
The couple enjoy a game of table tennis (Getty Images)

The couple joined pupils at Falmouth King Charles school who were demonstrating how to move miniature sailing boats around a pool of water with controls.

Before the couple left, Kate posed for a photograph with delighted fans Camille Meaney, 20, and Meilin Ji, 22.

“She was so lovely to us,” Miss Meaney said.

Afterwards the couple visited the Dracaena Centre in Cornwall, to learn about the wide variety of support and services that the organisation provides to local people.

There Kate joined in a rendition of the Hokey Cokey with children and their carers and she and Wiliam enjoyed a game of table tennis.

William became heir apparent, and known as the Prince of Wales, after the death of his grandmother and the accession of his father, Charles, to the throne.

He also inherited the title Duke of Cornwall and is now Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge. Kate is now known as the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

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