Overview

• During their first joint outing since the summer break, the couple joined London primary pupils for pond-dipping and learning sessions before a downpour moved activities indoors.
• They were shown how a sensor network and environmental DNA are used to track urban wildlife in the gardens, which opened in 2024 as a living laboratory of grassland, wetland and woodland habitats.
• The visit tied into the National Education Nature Park, led by the museum with the RHS and commissioned by the Department for Education, which has engaged more than 7,500 schools, colleges and nurseries.
• Media coverage noted the Princess of Wales’s noticeably lighter blonde hair during the appearance, her first high-profile look since the family’s summer break.
• Kensington Palace said renovations are underway at Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, funded by the couple, and confirmed the Wales family will move there later this year.