The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed she became a beekeeper by giving schoolchildren a taste of honey from the beehives at her Norfolk home.
Kate was visiting the Natural History Museum’s animal garden to learn more about her new Urban Nature project.
The Duchess asked young people at St Mary of the Angels Primary School in London if they knew where bees got their nectar, before producing a jar of honey made by her own bees at Anmer Hall.
Would you like to try some? ” she asked. “I have a spoon each. It came especially from my hive.
“See if it tastes the same as it tastes at home. Does it taste like store honey? Does it taste like flowers?
The Duchess asked the children if they knew how many species of bees there were in this country, telling them, “It’s 350, isn’t it amazing?”
She told them, “Whenever you see a bee, say ‘thank you very much’ because it makes delicious honey. “
The Duchess offered honey to the children to highlight the museum’s project on biodiversity.
She is believed to have joined her family in buying her brother, James Middleton, 1,000 Buckfast Bees as a birthday present when he turned 24.
Kate is in good company as a Royal Beekeeper.
The Duchess of Cornwall is an avid beekeeper and owns nine beehives in her Raymill home in Wiltshire.
Its honey is now sold annually to charities by Fortnum & Mason.
The Prince of Wales also keeps bees and beehives at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire.
In an ITV documentary with Sir David Attenborough last year, the Duke of Cambridge explained how his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, loved to watch bees make honey, but it was unclear that the Cambridges had their own beehives.
William said: “See my kids, see the passion in their eyes and love the outdoors. They find an insect or they like to watch how bees form honey.
The Duchess joined young people participating in a spider-making activity using pine cones and pipe cleaners.
She also helped attach an acoustic monitoring device to a cherry tree, which will record ambient sound to help scientists study the activity patterns of birds, mammals and insects in the garden.
The Urban Nature project, which will launch later this year, aims to work with partner museums and wildlife organizations to help people reconnect with the natural world and find practical solutions to protect the future of the world. planet.
Kate heard about the museum’s plan to transform its gardens into a state-of-the-art research center, including open-air classrooms and a living laboratory to deliver science and learning programs to young people, schools and families.
The Duchess was dressed in a fitted coral-colored jacket, a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers.
Kate is the patron saint of the museum, located near its London base, Kensington Palace.