On Thursday afternoon, amid Donald Trump's state visit to the U.K., Kate Middleton and Melania Trump stepped out for a joint outing—without other senior members of the royal family.
The Princess of Wales and first lady joined members of the Scouts’ Squirrels program in Frogmore Gardens for their historic first outing. Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields, was also present for the engagement, where young, 4- to 6-year-old members of the scouting group were learning about nature as they worked to earn their "Go Wild" badge and participating in activities that included some time creating artwork and crafts by pressing inked leaves onto paper and creating "bug hotels" out of cardboard, according to People.
During the engagement, while Princess Kate and Trump were spending time with a group of four- and five-year-olds, the Princess of Wales shared a rare detail about one of her own children, seven-year-old Prince Louis.
Kate revealed to the group that Louis has developed a quirky hobby and is obsessed with collecting conkers—the seeds of the horse chestnut tree—which she said she finds "all over their home," according to The Mirror.
“We keep finding conkers in cupboards, in his bed—conkers everywhere!” Kate explained, adding that he even puts the conkers in his toy trucks to play with them.
Kate has made it clear in the past that her favorite times with her family are when they're "outside in the countryside, and we're all filthy dirty."
Kate opened up about her family's love of playing oudoors during an interview Kate gave on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, while discussing what she most wanted her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to remember when they think back on their childhoods.
“Someone did ask me the other day, what would you want your children to remember about their childhood?” Kate told host Giovanna Fletcher, according to People. “And I thought that was a really good question, because actually if you really think about that, is it that I’m sitting down trying to do their maths and spelling homework over the weekend? Or is it the fact that we’ve gone out and lit a bonfire and sat around trying to cook sausages that hasn’t worked because it’s too wet?”
The Princess of Wales continued, further describing the moments she wants her children to remember most.
“That’s what I would want them to remember, those moments with me as a mother, but also the family going to the beach, getting soaking wet, filling our boots full of water, those are what I would want them to remember," Kate added. "Not a stressful household where you’re trying to do everything and not really succeeding at one thing.”
