Rather than a formal arrival in a royal car, the princess stepped off the bus with the primary school class as they pulled up at the National Portrait Gallery. The children were visiting a trail around the gallery encouraging them to think about their emotions, linked to Catherine's early years education project, Shaping Us.

The Princess of Wales was reportedly “animated” and “nurturing” with the little ones during Tuesday’s National Portrait Gallery outing.

The Princess of Wales became a surrogate mother for the day when she befriended a girl and took a school bus ride with her class for a National Portrait Gallery (NPG) outing.Kate helped to look after the youngsters playing I Spy when they travelled to the arts attraction,