The Princess of Wales enjoyed a pub and playdate with fathers and their children, as she made a public return to royal duties on Wednesday.
Mum-of-three Kate, 41, took part in a Dad Walk in North London during an engagement with Dadvengers, a community for dads and their children.
The Princess, who was dressed casually in a striped knit, jeans and a khaki jacket, highlighted the important role dads play in their children's earliest years, as part of her Shaping Us campaign on early childhood.
Kate joined the Arnos Grove Dadvengers group at the Arnos Arms pub, where they chatted about the role fathers play in a child's development, including in the months before they are even born and the earliest weeks and months of their lives.
As the royal joined fathers and their little ones around the table, she said: "I think the thing is raising the importance of family time and the role dads are playing in raising kids. Through what you guys are doing the kids are seeing the importance of socialising and getting together."
The group discussed the importance of equal paternity leave for men and Dadvengers founder Nigel Clarke told the Princess how if a father returns to work after two weeks of the child being born it "suddenly creates a hole in the family".
"It's not just mum will do X and dad will do Y," one of the fathers added, to which Kate agreed and said: "It's shared."
One of the fathers, who was holding his four month old baby, spoke to the Princess about how being part of Dadvengers gave him the confidence to become a father.
"We’ve got a WhatsApp chat and there's like 30 of us in it…and I can just ask 'Hey man, do you wanna go for a walk with the babies?' That network is just great," he told her.
Later, the Princess joined the group on a Dad Walk to the local park and heard about the support they give to one another through the Dadvengers network.
As the children played in the playground, Kate was seen crouching down to speak with one little girl, who was wearing a floral raincoat and wellington boots.
"I love your stripy tights," the Princess told the youngster, "I should have worn my stripy tights."
Dadvengers is predominantly an online community which works to support dads on their journey through parenthood.
It has a strong focus on mental wellbeing and supports new fathers in a variety of ways including through online training programmes, podcasts, and more recently the in-person 'Dad Walks'.
Dad Walks provide a new way for men to meet other fathers in their local community in an informal setting.
Dadvengers founder Nigel, who is also known for his work on The Baby Club on the BBC's CBeebies said: "Fathers have a hugely significant role to play in their children's lives, right from the start. Even before their baby is born, fathers can get involved and Dadvengers is on a mission to support them to do that in ways that work for them.
"We provide them with information and advice to help look after their own wellbeing, while also supporting them to build the nurturing relationships and surroundings we know are so important in the very earliest years of their children’s lives. It's what Dadvengers is all about."
Speaking after the visit, Nigel said the fathers were "in shock" to be visited by the princess.
He continued: "They were amazed she's taken the time to come and visit a group like this. We discussed how it’s important to have groups and spaces like this. Dads are worried they're going to feel awkward, but in a space like this they relax and open up."
He added: "We discussed how it's difficult reaching dads, and she asked how we've managed it. I'd like walks like this to happen up and down the country. The goal is to normalise seeing dads spending time with their kids."
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