Kate talks about Prince Louis, who celebrated his fifth birthday on Sunday while helping volunteers package donations in Windsor.
During a surprise visit to the Baby Bank charity in Windsor, the Princess of Wales said she couldn’t believe how quickly her youngest child was growing up.
Kate talked about Prince Louis, who turned five on Sunday, as she helped package donations for the charity.
“It’s crazy, it only feels like yesterday that they were this tiny, and they do grow so quickly,” she said on Monday morning while folding a baby’s one-piece suit.
Becky Gilbert and Eva Fernandes, two local mothers, founded the Baby Bank at Windsor in 2015, and it has since helped over 24,000 families in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.
Infant clothing, newborn starter kits, school uniforms, nappies, beds, and buggies are among the items provided by the charity.
The Princess has long been a supporter of baby banks and has visited many across the United Kingdom.
In 2020, she gathered 19 British brands and retailers to donate over 10,000 new items to over 40 baby banks across the country.
Kate told the charity’s volunteers and local midwives during her surprise visit, “I wanted to come and shine a spotlight on the amazing work that you all are doing collectively, it’s so needed.”
The princess, who has a “passion” for children under the age of five, said volunteers at the charity were “living and breathing this,” adding, “You see their challenges, and we all need to do everything we can to help them.”
She has visited several community initiatives in the Windsor area since her family relocated there last year, and she had expressed an interest in seeing their work firsthand to the organizers.
While there, she assisted in the organization and packing of items from massive piles of donated clothing, remarking that it “must be one of the more time-consuming elements” of the volunteering.
Cost of living crisis – Kate’s surprise
She inquired whether the charity had recently seen the needs of families change as a result of the cost of living crisis, and was surprised to learn that the supply of donations had not kept up with a significant increase in demand.
“People are hanging onto what they have, passing it on to friends, or selling things like buggies for a little cash,” Lauren Hall, co-chief executive of the Baby Bank, explained.
When the Princess asked what items were “hard to come by,” Ms. Hall explained that nappies, buggies, and larger items like single beds were the most difficult to find.
She also mentioned the importance of volunteering and the upcoming Big Help Out, a Coronation initiative on May 8 to encourage people to sign up for local volunteering in their communities.
“It’s important for people to understand that you don’t have to commit to a full day if you can just have a slot in the morning,” the Princess said.
“It’s about connecting people in the community who want to do something with the right organization.”
Senior members of the Royal family are expected to participate in volunteering opportunities on Bank Holiday Monday, with the goal of inspiring more people to volunteer long-term across the country as part of the Coronation legacy.
“We say to people if you can only give an hour, absolutely fine,” Ms Hall added. We couldn’t function without the help of 20 volunteers.”
‘People have busy lives
One volunteer stated that she volunteered for a few hours before going to the gym, to which the Princess replied, “No, you are absolutely correct, you should not feel bad.”
“People have hectic schedules. It’s fine not to commit and figure out what you can fit in with your hectic daily schedule.”
The Baby Bank receives no government funding and is entirely supported by volunteers, donations, and grants from retailers and local suppliers.
Kate promised to return to the charity with her own three children one day, joking, “Or perhaps my helpful ones and not my unhelpful ones.”
Ms. Hall stated, “She said she would bring her children down, and I said I would bring my five-year-old to play with Louis.”
