Royal parents, just like any other, always have an extra trick up their sleeve, and Princess Kate is no exception.
In a new photo shared to Instagram last week, the Princess of Wales can be seen trying out a new toy on her visit to HMP Styal's Mother and Baby Unit: the My First Puppet Rabbit from The Puppet Company.
With a friendly face and enormous ears, it's an adorable addition to Kate's collection of playtime entertainment.
Beaming brightly as ever and playfully engaging with a baby, Princess Kate seems to be a natural at puppet play – there's no doubt she must have done the same with Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, when they were little!
On the exciting news, Sue Lockey, co-founder of The Puppet Company said: "Oh we just love our friendly Rabbit hand puppet, it's a perfect Easter or new baby gift and it's truly delightful to see The Princess Wales happily playing with it. This cheeky bunny will now forever be known as our Royal Rabbit!”
The company aims to help children "learn through play, inspire imagination and to create fun for everyone". As well as encouraging interaction and language development in young children, puppets can help children through difficult times or give them someone to talk to, in a magic that the brand calls 'The Power of Puppets'.
"We've had a huge amount of interest in our rabbit puppets since Kate was pictured playing with our My First Rabbit puppet", the brand said.
They continued: "A lot of people are contacting us saying their children and grandchildren have already been playing with that puppet for many years, which is wonderful to hear.
With puppets as her toy of choice on her visit to the children in the women's prison, it's clear that Princess Kate is also quite the advocate for the communicative and imaginative power of puppet play!
The artistic talents of Kate's kids
The Prince and Princess of Wales's children are certainly taking after their mother with their artistic talents.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis got involved with Kate's early years initiative during the February half-term break.
The children and their mother drew portraits of one another in a series of adorable sketches posted to Instagram this week.
As part of the initiative, Princess Kate and The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood are encouraging families to be creative together.
One of the suggestions is for parents or carers and their children to create portraits of one another, through drawing, painting or modelling, as a method of connecting.
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