Surprising staff at her local baby bank the princess of wales helps a charity close to home and her heart

S he is, as she said, “new to the area”, so the Princess of Wales was keen to hear more about one of her local charities on a surprise visit to the Baby Bank in Windsor.

Kate, who, along with her family, moved to Adelaide Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle last summer, called in to help fold donated baby clothes and reminisced on the early years of her own children – Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, who turns eight on 2 May, and five-year-old Prince Louis.

“Oh yes,” she said, spotting boxes of Buzz Lightyear toys donated by Mattel. “My daughter is a huge fan of Toy Story.”

And noting how small the clothes were, a day after Louis’s birthday, she added: “He turned five yesterday but you still think he is this size. It only feels like yesterday that they were this tiny; they do grow so quickly.”

The Princess happily chatted to the charity’s joint chiefs Rebecca Mistry and Lauren Hall as she worked alongside the volunteers – and when told that seeing the baby items made some people broody, laughed and said: “I’ve been there and done that.”

She also promised to return with her own three children – or: “Perhaps my helpful ones and not my unhelpful ones!”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Lauren said afterwards: “She said she would bring her children down. I said I would bring my five-year-old to play with Louis – they can keep each other occupied. I think Louis here would be awesome. They can choose which toys the children should have.”

Rebecca added: “Support of high-profile people like the Princess is crucial. But most importantly, she wants to help; she wants to make a difference.”

With days to go before the Coronation Big Help Out, Kate also spoke about the importance of considering volunteering, even if only for an hour.

“I do think it stops people, this feeling that they have to commit to a big chunk of time,” she said. “They’re nervous about committing. When you see the volume of stock here, you can see that every hour helps.

“It’s important for