The Princess of Wales showed off her passion for language learning as she practised her Italian skills with young schoolchildren on Thursday.
Kate, 44, asked the young students at Salvador Allende pre-school, on the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, for a mini lesson on the final day of her two-day tour to Italy.
After introducing herself as "Caterina", Kate crouched down on the floor with the children, aged three to six, and wasted no time in getting to know everyone.
In one adorable moment, she even asked for an Italian lesson, saying: "Can you teach me something? What is Italian for roots of the tree?"
The royal mother-of-three was delighted when she was told it was "Radici", telling them: "There you go! I've learned a new word."
Crouching down to speak to another two girls who were drawing grasses and flowers, she asked: "Posso vedere? Wow! Bellissima!" (Can I see? Very beautiful!)."
© Getty ImagesThe Princess's two-day tour of educational sites was part of her work in early childhood studies and marked her first official visit abroad in three-and-a-half years, since her cancer diagnosis in 2024.
A learning experience
The Princess was hailed as the "children's princess" by fans as she engaged with the children, joining them for activities including handling newts from the pond, rolling "tree roots" from clay and marvelling at the school’s peaceful outdoor setting.
She was wearing a blazer by Italian brand Blaize Milano and a fabric bracelet by Atelier Malayan, a small label based in Milan, for the occasion.
Her professional Italian speaking skills soon met with gushing reactions after HELLO! shared the sweet moment on Instagram.
One person wrote: "Even when there’s a language barrier HRH can still communicate, kindness is a world that’s everybody understands."
Another said: "Our future beautiful, kind, classy future Queen. She is perfection personified and truly deserves her place in Royalty." "She is perfection!" another agreed.
© Getty ImagesMeanwhile, one Italian fan commented: "Ma quanto è bella!", which translates to "how beautiful she is". "I always see that she’s a great listener. Takes it all in," one person said.
Kate's language skills
The Princess had been practising her Italian speaking skills throughout the trip, prompting locals to commend her "perfect" speech as she arrived on day one.
On Tuesday, she stepped out at Piazza Camillo Prampolini, and took time to speak with young children. She met around 20 children aged between three and five years old from the Robinson pre-school.
Alice, 5, said afterwards: "She asked my name in Italian. She spoke Italian very well." Teacher Roberta Marzi said meeting the princess was "emotional".
© Alamy Stock PhotoShe added: "She asked them some simple questions but her Italian was perfect she spoke clearly."
The royal spent a few months in Florence during her gap year in 2000, studying Italian and history of art at the British Institute there. On a visit to Leicester in 2018, she claimed her Italian was "so bad" – but clearly she was just being modest!
The Princess is also known to be learning Welsh, alongside her husband, Prince William, and was heard speaking the language for the first time on St David's Day in March.
She is clearly passionate about languages and has spoken before about her children's skills, despite their young ages. In 2017, she revealed that Prince George could count to ten in Spanish – learning from his Spanish nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.
