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British RoyalsPrince & Princess of Wales

The Duchess of Cambridge serves breakfast during visit to nursery school

The Duchess of Cambridge helped serve breakfast at a London nursery and pre-school on Wednesday morning as she continued her campaigning for the 5 Big Questions survey she launched last week.

Popping over to the London Early Years Foundation Stockwell Gardens Nursery and Pre-school as she continues her work for her Early Years Programme, Kate learned from chef apprentices about how food plays an important role in childhood development.

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LEFY offers an Early Years Chef Academy that helps chefs who are either currently working in, or hope to work in, food environments with children. Its mandate is designed to “strengthen the important roles chefs play in educating staff and parents and influencing children’s healthy food choices.”

Kate revealed to chef apprentices Luke Nelson-Neil and Rouchelle Scott-Ashby that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis all love beetroot. Nelson-Neil said that he couldn’t get the children at Stockwell Gardens to eat it.

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“It’s one of those things, until you try it, you don’t know,” the Duchess replied.

After meeting with the chef apprentices, the Duchess of Cambridge helped the nursery teachers serve breakfast to the children. Kate pushed a cart full of breakfast foods—cereal and chopped fruits—and stopped at tables to help the children get their breakfast.

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She also took part in playtime, joining the children at play stations while they learned.

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LEYF works to “add value to the life of the community and future generations by strengthening local networks, demonstrating the role that everyone has in ensuring strong, healthy foundations” for the youngest people in society, according to the Royal Family website.

Kate was visiting LEYF Stockwell Gardens in support of her 5 Big Questions survey, which will act as a guide for her Early Years Programme moving forward. During her visit, she revealed that over 100,000 adults in the UK have already filled out the survey.

Her Royal Highness said, “It’s great to visit places like this where communities come together to support one another. Last week I launched a UK wide survey on early childhood because I want to hear society’s views about raising the next generation.

“I’m so happy that over 100,000 people from all across the UK have already completed it, and I can’t wait to see the results.”

LEYF’s Chief Executive, June O’Sullivan, told reporters after Kate’s visit, “You can’t capture just how important the early years are. There’s a raft of research that shows if you invest in them when they’re little, if you give them the right kind of nurture, if you give them the time to speak, learn, listen and concentrate—and opportunities of personal development—then they actually grow into really capable, successful human beings.”

After helping out with breakfast, the Duchess held a private meeting with parenting podcaster Giovanna Fletcher, who hosts ‘Happy Mum Happy Baby.’ Kate has met with Fletcher on several occasions since launching her 5 Big Questions—Fletcher was invited to both days of the Duchess of Cambridge’s 24-hour tour.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.