The Prince and Princess of Wales have marked their return to official duties following their summer break with a visit to London’s Natural History Museum.
Kate, a patron of the institution, was joined by her husband Prince William as they were welcomed by museum director Doug Gurr.
Their engagement focused on learning about the museum’s extensive gardens, which serve as a resource for teaching, research, and recreation.
This public appearance comes just a day after the couple’s children began their new term at Lambrook School in Berkshire.
The family was last seen publicly in late August, attending church near Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.
During their visit on Thursday, the prince and princess plan to meet children taking part in learning programmes in the attraction’s gardens, aimed at helping them connect with nature and boost biodiversity in central London.
Kate has spoken in the past about the importance of children spending time in the natural world, and she helped create the family-friendly Back To Nature play garden that was exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.
She also urged society to “reconnect to nature and celebrate a new dawn within our hearts” in a voiceover for Spring, the first of her series of social media videos celebrating the seasons released earlier this year.
The museum gardens opened in 2024. They feature grassland, wetland and woodland habitats, and are said to serve as a living laboratory where visitors and scientists can identify and monitor wildlife in an urban environment.
During their visit, William and Kate will also be shown how cutting-edge technology is being used in the garden to inform the museum’s conservation and research biodiversity projects.
In August, it was revealed that the couple and their three children will be moving before the end of the year to the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.
