Kate Middleton: Duchess demonstrates ukulele skills at children's hospice visit

The Duchess of Cambridge demonstrated her ukulele skills during a private visit to a children's hospice yesterday. (11 February)

The princess was visiting the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital School in south London which educates children with long term illnesses who are undergoing treatment at the nearby Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals. She later attended a reception to discuss the Royal Foundation's support for hospices offering palliative care for young children.

Kate interacted with the children and even had an impromptu ukulele lesson. Commenting on the royal visit, headteacher Dr John Ivens described the Duchess as a "good listener."

"One of the boys managed to teach the Duchess a couple of chords on the ukulele. She kept up with them. There's a career there," he joked.

"The Duchess is very good at listening to what people are saying to her, especially children, and responding in a thoughtful way. Clearly it was very important for her to understand how young people get to a situation that they need to be an in-patient at such a young age," Dr Ivens explained.

"It was clear that her intention in coming was to find out more about this area. She talked a little bit about that with the children and about what George likes. It was lovely."

Kate has been a supporter of children's wellbeing initiatives and is patron of East Anglia Children's Hospices (EACH).

She visited an EACH launch in Norfolk last autumn where she was seen talking to parents and terminally ill children. The Duchess was moved to tears on hearing mother Leigh Smith's heartbreaking story.

The Princess, who is around six and a half months pregnant, will face the cameras again tomorrow when she heads to Portsmouth to meet Olympic sailing champion Sir Ben Ainslie and see the work of his 1851 Trust.

It will be her first public engagement since January 19th, when she carried out a series of visits in London.

She recently returned from a two week break in Mustique with Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge and her family.