Duchess Catherine makes sweet family admission as she gets her hands dirty in latest royal engagement

The Duchess of Cambridge opened up about family life at Amner Hall whilst helping plant a new patio garden at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

• Catherine wanted to create an outdoor space for the children and their families to enjoy
• The Duchess is patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and made a special visit as part of Children’s Hospice Week
• The mum-of-three said her three children have been enjoying a spot of gardening in lockdown and have planted sunflowers
• It follows royal news that Prince Harry launched a new trek for injured veterans with military charity

Duchess Catherine, 38, made a special visit to The Nook – one of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices - last week to help transform the outdoor area into a bright and welcoming patio garden.

The green-fingered royal got stuck right in and helped children and families plant flowers, even making a “big mess” at one point after dropping soil on the floor.

During her visit Catherine made a sweet admission about her own children – Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two – who have enjoyed a spot of gardening in lockdown.

She said, "The children are really enjoying growing their sunflowers. Louis' is winning so George is a little grumpy about that!"

Catherine was joined by six-year-old Sonny Pope-Saunders - who was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour back in February – and his family.

Touched by their story, Catherine praised Sonny’s family for their “resilience” and spirit.

READ MORE: Prince William's first words to Catherine revealed

"I'm always so blown away by families like yours, particularly having to go through all of this in lockdown,” she said.

“You show such resilience and bravery. You're such an inspiration to us all. More people in the country should meet families like you, there's a huge amount of change for you all to take on and you have coped fantastically."

With the Duchess keen to get involved as part of Children’s Hospice Week, EACH’s Acting Chief Executive, Tracy Rennie, was more than happy to host her visit.

"The Duchess wanted to support Children's Hospice Week and when she suggested creating a new garden at the Nook, I said: 'fantastic!'. I gave her a brief to include plants with smells and bright colours and she delivered the brief brilliantly."