Royal children help out at 'Babybank' ahead of Christmas

The Princess of Wales has taken her children volunteering at a baby bank where the young royals picked out Christmas presents for those in need.

Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis got stuck in sifting through donated goods after being given the task of choosing toys they would like and filling festive bags.

Kate made an official visit to the Baby Bank in Holyport near Maidenhead in April and returned a few weeks ago with her children for a private evening event.

In a video released to mark their trip, Kate is seen with her arm around George, saying:

"You can see how rewarding this work is, knowing that you're helping out others" and her son replies "yes".

Rebecca Mistry, the Baby Bank's co-founder and co-chief executive officer, said the young royals helped with their Christmas campaign where pyjamas, books, chocolates and toys are being donated to 1,600 children.

She said:

"We're quite passionate about reading and if you can get children reading it helps with so many life skills," said the charity boss.

"If you can't put the heating on, or not as high, the PJs are going to be thick and warm and chocolate - because you can't really go wrong with a bit of chocolate."

She said about the evening they were joined by the royals:

"It was fun, a lot of fun. We had them packing bags and they packed toys and little outfits.

"They were wonderful, they were so helpful and they had good fun and we said they could come back any time.

"We gave them a list and they packed the clothes that we needed and the toys that we needed."

The video showing the royals' evening at the charity has been posted on Kensington Palace's official social media accounts, and the children are shown arriving by car with donations of new toys and clothes George, Charlotte and Louis carry into the building.

When inside the charity centre, the princess tells them: "Here there's lots of people who give up their time and come and help out - and you're the volunteers for this evening."

Mrs Mistry can be heard telling the young royals "what we would like you to do, is try and choose some present for some children who are a similar age to you guys."

In the footage Louis is seen holding a large toy gorilla and says "this is a big guy" while in another clip Charlotte works diligently collecting toys and George is shown carrying a festive bag bulging with gifts.

The Baby Bank was founded in 2015 and supports children from birth up to the age of 16 whose families may need essential items, from school uniforms and beds to toys and buggies.

Working in the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, and bordering areas in the London Borough of Hillingdon, the charity has supported around 7,000 families so far this year, with the festive season a busy period for the organisation.

During November Kate visited a baby bank in north London to launch a campaign by her Royal Foundation to encourage the public to donate goods, money or their time to support their local baby bank.

George, Charlotte and Louis also helped out sorting children's pyjamas and at one point the young princess and her mother burst out laughing after pulling out a baby's bodysuit decorated with Welsh dragons.

Holding it up Charlotte said:

"This is Welsh."

The young royals made a rare public outing on Friday when they joined their parents at Kate's annual Christmas carol concert in celebration of those supporting children and families.

It was billed as a moment to thank all those who work to support babies, young children and families in communities across the UK, and Mrs Mistry and her co-chief executive Lauren Hall were among the 1,500 guests, alongside midwives and nursery teachers

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