Princess of Wales takes minibus to National Portrait Gallery with schoolchildren

The Princess of Wales has arrived at a royal engagement by minibus, taking a trip with primary school children to the National Portrait Gallery in central London.

Like other members of the Royal family, she customarily arrives at engagements by car with police protection officers on hand.

But on Tuesday she sat on a minibus with four and five-year-olds from All Souls CE Primary School in Fitzrovia for the short journey to Trafalgar Square. The minibus was organised by Kensington Palace.

The Princess threw herself into the role of school trip helper, taking the hand of one little girl for the walk from the minibus to the gallery entrance.

Wearing a brown suit, high-necked jumper and high-heeled boots, she chatted to Grace, five, holding her hand as they walked together behind her teachers and classmates.

The Princess joined the reception class of primary school children for a storytelling trail through the gallery, asking them to create a self-portrait as part of her Early Years childhood project.

Designed to boost children’s social and emotional skills, the trail is based on a magical tree with colourful leaves “grown” inside the gallery.

“The children are asked to help the Bobeam Tree by taking part in activities around the gallery to discover the stories of people through portraits, listening to audio recordings, using props, exploring facial expressions and finally,by thinking about their own lives, feelings and thoughts while creating a self-portrait,” event organisers said.

“At the end of the trail, children can choose to feed their portrait to the tree so it grows big and strong.”

Upstairs in the Ondaatje Wing, the Princess walked past portraits of Winston Churchill and a young King George VI, and discussed how portraiture could help younger children learn about empathy.

“It’s such a great way for children to engage and understand other people’s perspectives in a creative and less intimidating way,” she said. “They don’t have the language yet, but they’re finding ways to talk about emotions and feelings and understand them.

“I’m really excited to be using portraiture to explore social and emotional skills because I feel it’s such an untapped potential, but also to make it accessible to lots of kids so it’s not just in school but is something that’s embraced by the community.”

Alix Ascough, the executive head teacher at All Souls, said: “Catherine was wonderful, really chatty with the children, and it just felt like a really relaxed journey. She was helping out with the children. It was just lovely.”

She said the Princess told her it had been a “wonderful opportunity” to be with the children in the gallery, adding: “She was complimenting the children on how well behaved they were and what good artists they were because they had the opportunity to draw pictures.

“Those experiences that we give the children are incredibly important, and on days like today – where those experiences become magical – you sow those seeds for lifelong learning.”

During the visit, the Princess met Victoria Siddall, the newly-appointed director of the gallery, and leaders from five other UK galleries that will be working with The Centre for Early Childhood in the coming year.

The Bobeam Tree Trail at the National Portrait Gallery will run until March 16 and is free.

It came as the Royal family joined forces with a host of celebrities to send an emotional message of support on World Cancer Day.

Both the King and the Princess of Wales were treated for cancer last year, with the Princess now in remission while the monarch continues his schedule of weekly treatment.

A message posted on the Royal family’s official social media accounts on Tuesday said: “This World Cancer Day, we are sending love to all those navigating a cancer diagnosis – as well as the incredible doctors, nurses, charities and families who work tirelessly to support them.”

The post featured a series of positive messages from well known faces including Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who has been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden and broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire, both of whom had breast cancer, and radio presenter Adele Roberts, who was treated for bowel cancer.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Queen enjoyed a fanfare of fireworks and singing as she opened a school in east London.

Queen Camilla was at Mulberry Academy London Dock, for children aged 11-18, which started welcoming pupils in September. The school, part of the Mulberry Schools Trust, began with around 128 Year 7 pupils and plans to expand each year, with hopes to reach full capacity of 1,150 by 2029.