Princess Kate had a tiny scene stealer during her visit to the Anna Freud children’s mental health charity and he wasn’t shy about making his debut.

While chatting with parents and greeting little ones, the Princess of Wales suddenly found her finger being claimed by a curious baby, who promptly gave it a good chew.

She burst into laughter, happily letting the tot hang on as she played along with the adorable moment.

Kate was visiting The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to launch a new project with Anna Freud aimed at boosting health visitors’ skills in supporting early development. 

The engagement follows her recent speech at the Future Workforce Summit, where she stressed how vital stable, loving relationships are in creating the environments children need to flourish.

Her outing also marked the official announcement of a new collaboration between the Centre for Early Childhood and Anna Freud though it’s safe to say the baby may have been the partnership’s unofficial mascot for the day, proudly keeping hold of his royal souvenir.

Kate has proudly served as patron for nine years and she continues to champion the mission of ensuring every young person gets the right support at the right time.