Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, visits primary school in Manchester
Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, traveled to the English city of Manchester on Tuesday to visit a primary school, where she launched a new counseling program.
The 31-year-old was greeted at the Willows Primary School by cheering schoolchildren waving flags for St. George's Day.
And while the six-months-pregnant duchess, who dressed for the visit in a floral dress by Erdem and blue suede heels, has gotten many a baby gift these past few months, she was presented Tuesday with something for the other little one in her life -- her and Prince William's cocker spaniel, Lupo.
According to the Daily Mail, 10-year-old student Chloe Pomfret was joined by the school's "executive dog," a King Charles spaniel named Henry, to present Kate with a basket full of gifts for the couple's pup.
The paper reports that Kate "appeared particularly delighted" by the gift. "Henry, you have gone to so much trouble," she laughed.
The duchess' visit highlighted the school's new counseling program M-PACT, which is a partnership between the Royal Foundation (of which Kate, William and Prince Harry are patrons), Comic Relief, Place2Be and Action on Addiction (Kate is also patron of the latter two organizations). The program provides support for children affected by parental drug or alcohol abuse.
In a speech Tuesday at the school, Kate told the audience: "Last year, I asked the Royal Foundation, which I share with William and Harry, to see what could be done to help these children. In partnership with Comic Relief, our foundation commissioned a piece of research to explore this issue. Today, it gives me an enormous feeling of pride and excitement to launch a programme that will bring this research to life."
"The cycle of addiction needs to be broken," she added. "My hope is that through this specialist and targeted delivery of care, these children will have the best possible start in life - the one that they deserve."
The visit comes a day after Kate attended the National Review of Queen's Scouts at Windsor Castle.