Helping hand: Duchess’s anniversary plans on hold for Children’s Hospice Week

Kate, who is six months pregnant, wore a coral coloured Tara Jarmon coat and a peach bespoke dress, as she met children with life-limiting conditions and their parents at Naomi House hospice, near Winchester, yesterday.

Meanwhile the Duke of Cambridge, an RAF search and rescue pilot, was on duty in North Wales.

The Duchess was given a timely reminder of their second wedding anniversary – a craftwork recreation of the children’s character the Hungry Caterpillar, made by youngsters at the hospice.

The gift was made on cotton, the traditional gift couples exchange to mark two years of marriage, and featured fingerprints of all the children who created leaves.

Professor Khalid Aziz, chairman of trustees at Naomi House, thanked her for making the visit, saying it was “especially special” that it fell on her anniversary.

On arrival, she had gone straight into a private meeting before visiting the hydrotherapy pool, laughing as she was invited in to take a dip. Later, she chatted to youngsters enjoying a tea party, inadvertently setting off a spat between two-and-a-half-year-old twins Tarun and Kian Chungh, from Southampton.

Kian had drawn a picture for Kate and was keen to give it to her, but brother Tarun, who suffers from Noonan syndrome, kept snatching it back. A comic scene unfolded as the picture passed repeatedly back and forth between the duchess and the twins.

Professor Aziz said: “Her presence has provided a real boost for our families, our volunteers and all our dedicated staff who were thrilled to meet her.”

Children’s Hospice Week runs until Friday. It is run by UK children’s palliative care charity Together for Short Lives.