It's no secret that the Princess of Wales is dedicated to improving the lives of children, particularly the under-five age group.
She is a supporter of many children's charities including baby bank initiative Little Village. The organisation's CEO Sophie Livingstone has met the Princess on a number of occasions, including showing her around their hub in Brent in June 2022.
"She clearly genuinely loves small children," Sophie told HELLO! "She's genuinely interested and cares about them and you can see it in any engagement she has, she comes to life when she sees little ones.
© Getty"And that's obviously where that driving force comes from in terms of making sure that everybody has the best start in life. It comes from that passion."
On what Kate is really like behind closed doors, Sophie said: "She's just really lovely, really nice and normal, and easy to talk to. She's genuinely interested in what we are doing and what more she can do to help us. And she's really followed through with that.
"You sort of feel like people come and visit, but actually, she's followed up. She and her team have continued to engage with us and support us. It's not just a one-off thing. It's not just a pat on the head, or nice warm words at the time. It's about, 'What can we do? How can we genuinely help?' And thinking about the bigger picture, which is fantastic."
© GettyKate, who is mother to Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis, is also incredibly down-to-earth.
"She's a mum, and you know, we all want the best for our children and she's just the same," said Sophie, adding: "The fact that she will roll up her sleeves and be alongside the volunteers and talk to families and things like that, that gives them a boost. Everybody feels recognised and rewarded by the Princess shining a light on what we're doing, but also by volunteering alongside us."
Princess Kate, who turns 42 next week, has a long track record of championing the Early Years, with a Kensington Palace spokesperson previously saying it will continue to be a "golden thread throughout her working life".
But in recent times, she has particularly shone a light on baby banks. Before Christmas, she very memorably took her children George, Charlotte and Louis to volunteer at a baby bank in Maidenhead where they helped sort through donations and prepare festive gift bags for youngsters in need.
"She started supporting us during COVID and then she's followed up with visits," Sophie said of Little Village's experience. "And then inviting us to the Shaping Us symposium.
"It's amazing to see that consistency of support. It's not just dipping in and out. The fact that she stayed all day at the symposium was such an amazing signal. You normally get, at these events, people staying for the big speeches and then disappearing off, but she didn't. I was so impressed."
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