Princess of Wales high-fives young royal fan in Nuneaton

The Princess of Wales congratulated an infant who let out a little burp during her visit to health workers in Nuneaton this morning, telling them: ‘Well done you!’

The room erupted in laughter as mother-of-three Kate, 41, stopped what she was saying to make a fuss of 10-week-old Raphael Pickering, who let out the little noise as he was sat on his mother Brogan Goodwin’s lap.

At the moment she was interrupted by the sweet baby, the Princess had been discussing a £50,000 NHS project she has funded through the Royal Foundation for Early Years Development which is trialling a new model of assessing babies’ wellbeing.

The health workers in Nuneaton are part of the pioneering project, which involves using indicators to understand the happiness of babies. 

Upon arrival at Riversley Park Children’s Centre in the Warwickshire town today, Kate looked radiant in a £490 silk turquoise leopard-print dress from Samantha Cameron’s Cefinn brand, paired with Jimmy Choo white pumps, as she arrived this morning to continue her early years development crusade. 

She accessorised her chic outfit with a white structured handbag from Mulberry and £695 green amethyst pear drop earrings from Kiki McDonough.

As she joined the staff and mothers at the centre and little Raphael stole the show, Kate turned to his 24-year-old mother and said: ‘It’s always reassuring isn’t it, takes ages to try and make them.’

Miss Goodwin, who had been quietly winding her son as the princess chatted, looked horrified for a second but was reassured by the royal’s reaction, as the other mums collapsed in giggles.

She said afterwards: ‘I thought he was going to be sick, I thought ‘please don’t vomit on the princess’, but luckily it was only a burp.

‘I’m going to wait till his 18th birthday to tell him.’

A cohort of mini royal fans waiting for her as they queued up eagerly to meet the Princess – and one of them even got a high-five. 

The princess sat with new mums and babies including Mischa Kerr, 36, and her nine-month-old, Talia Saliba-Kerr, who spent the entire session holding Kate’s right hand.

Mother-of-four Mischa said afterwards: ‘I’m sure someone recorded it (hand holding) and will show it to me but her brothers will be jealous.

‘It’s great that she came down as it’s important that everyone learns what resources are available and the incredible work the health visitors are doing.’

She also met three-year-old Nate Martin, who looked smart in his Aston Villa football kit as the Princess knelt down to say hello. She appeared to compliment him on his football strip as he represented the same team Prince William and the Waleses support. 

As she left the Riversley Park Children’s Centre, the Princess of Wales carried a posy of flowers and waved goodbye to well-wishers

Included in the elegant bunch of flowers gifted to the Princess of Wales were white lilies and eucalyptus

Kate looked radiant as she departed from the Riversley Park Children’s Centre in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

A new pal for the Princess! Kate knelt down to chat to a blonde-haired boy, Nate Martin, 3, in a football kit as an excited woman got her phone ready to take a snap

The Princess appeared to compliment little Nate on his football kit as she knelt down to make a fuss of him

The Princess of Wales looked radiant in a £490 Cefinn silk shirt dress as she paid a visit to health workers in Nuneaton today

The Princess of Wales chatted with health workers at Riversley Park Children’s Centre in Nuneaton

Kate’s visit is the latest engagement in her crusade to promote early years development as part of her Shaping Us Campaign, launched in January.

The Princess’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has provided £50,000 of funding for an NHS project to assess babies’ wellbeing, which trials an innovative model. 

As she arrived in the West Midlands city, the mother-of-three showed her maternal side, stopping to greet the children – who were wearing caps to shield themselves from the sun’s rays – and chat to them.

Riversley Park is one of three children and family centres managed by the Barnardo’s children’s charity offering a range of services from birth to 19.

The local health visiting team has an office and clinic within the centre offering one to one and group-based support.

The purpose of today’s visit was to meet with health workers in the Warwickshire area who are being trained in the use of this model, called the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB). 

Following a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, last year where she first saw it trialed, Kate has been fascinated by the system and believes it to be of importance in assessing the wellbeing of young babies.

The £50,000 project is being launched through Kate’s Centre for Early Childhood, and will be carried out in conjunction with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) and Oxford University. 

The purpose of Kate’s visit was to discuss the progress being made in a trial of the use of a new model which monitors babies’ happiness

The mother-of-three shone as she discussed one of her biggest passions – early years development 

During her visit the Princess met with health workers who have been trialling the use of a model called the Alarm Distress Baby Scale

Kate was discussing the model, ADBB, which she first saw in action during a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, last year

Kate beamed as she greeted the young boy, who was waiting eagerly behind a fence to see her this morning

As her visit got underway, Kate couldn’t help but make a fuss of a little girl as she chatted to her mother 

The Princess of Wales beamed as she chatted to the children, who were all wearing caps to shield themselves from the sunshine, this morning

The mother-of-three appeared deep in conversation with the schoolchildren who were eager to meet her

The Princess of Wales looked elegant in a £490 Cefinn dress as she greeted schoolchildren at Riversley Park Children’s Centre

As part of her crusade in early years’ development, Kate has been working with the IVH to explore how the model can be implemented in the UK.

The ADBB model uses a range of indicators, including eye contact, facial expressions, vocalisationand activity levels to help families and practitioners understand how babies express their feelings. It can also help detect psychological distress early on, which then helps professionals to know what support is needed early on.

It was developed by Pr. A. Guedeney in Paris, and was initially created to assess infants from 0 to 24 months old. It also supports parents and helps them with bonding and attachment to their children.

Sitting with new mums, the royal also cooed at the newborns and said ‘you forget how tiny they are first born”’ and discussed the importance of health visitors making home visits.

She said: ‘The first time (becoming a mother) having support of health visitors is so important.

‘Particularly during the first time you have expectations of what pregnancy will be like but everyone’s expectations are different to reality.

‘At this age they are so aware of different voices and environments.

‘Having someone there to talk to is so important.’

Speaking about the ABDD scheme, she added: ‘How much you can pick up in terms of baby cues at such a small age and help pass on to parents this and signs to look for, and this is how they communicate with you, I find that fascinating.’

In a second room staff thanked Kate for choosing to pilot the ABDD to their area and warned of a shortage of health visitors.

The princess told them: ‘The more health visitors, the better.

‘You play such a critical role in society for families and I’m aware of the pressure you are under.’

Despite the visit being kept under-wraps, dozens of local children waited outside to see Kate.

She went on a ‘walkabout’ chatting to young schoolchildren, giving them high-fives, asking what they were studying in lessons and receiving flowers.

The trial is running for 10 months within the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.