An enthusiastic Prince Louis joined his siblings to help pack Christmas gift bags at a baby bank and appeared particularly delighted with a large plastic gorilla.
He yelled “This is a big guy!” holding the toy aloft with glee.
The Princess of Wales took Prince Louis, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte to The Baby Bank in Maidenhead, near their Windsor home, for a stint of volunteering.
It comes following her promise, during her first visit in April, to return with her children, “perhaps my helpful ones and not my unhelpful ones!”
The Princess of Wales wants to abolish the stigma surrounding such “vital” services, launching an initiative last month to encourage members of the public to donate funds, pre-loved items and products or to volunteer their time to support their local baby banks throughout December.
The four were filmed arriving before the Princess opened the boot of their car and they carried in large cardboard boxes of their own private donations.
Prince Louis’s box seemed to be full of cuddly toys.
The Princess of Wales explained to her children that there were lots of people who give up their time and there are lots of volunteers who come and help out and said that they were the volunteers for this evening.
One of the volunteers asked them to select some presents for children of a similar age. She said to think about what they would like to play with.
All three then bustled around looking at toys and clothes they wanted to pack into their gift bags.
While Prince Louis, was particularly taken with the gorilla, Princess Charlotte cooed over the tiny baby clothes.
She showed her mother the finished gift bag and explained that a Lego car she had packed was for a boy, before writing a label with a blue marker pen.
She also appeared delighted to find a tiny babygrow covered in little red dragons as she sifted through a bag of clothes marked 0-3 months.
Princess Charlotte and Prince George folded some clothes carefully as their younger brother opted instead to hurl his pile onto the table.
Prince George quietly got on with the task at hand.
One of the volunteers said that Prince George wanted to come back, which was good.
All three children, led by a confidant Prince Louis, who by then had ditched his patterned jumper, carried their gift bags downstairs ready for distribution.
The short video montage was made by Will Warr, who has made several films for the family throughout the Coronation celebrations, each of which has been released on social media.
It said on the screen that with a third of children under five years of age living in poverty in the United Kingdom, baby banks provided a vital lifeline for families in all sorts of challenging circumstances.
“Supporting parents and carers, who are doing their best to provide for their families, is essential and can have a life-changing effect.”
It also said to find out more about your local baby bank on the Centre for Early Childhood website “Whether you would like to offer support, or are in need of support yourself.”
“Thank you to everyone who so generously supports baby banks across the country.”
A hidden resource
Last month, Princess Catherine visited Sebby’s Corner baby bank in Barnet, north London, donating 50 copies of one of her favourite children’s, The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson.
She warned of desperate times families faced in the run-up to Christmas expressing concern that the country’s 250 baby banks were a hidden resource and should be more visible, and told volunteers that every child should have the basic essentials.
The Maidenhead baby bank has been set up by two local mothers in 2015 and has since supported more than 24,000 families in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which despite being close to Windsor Castle, has large areas of deprivation.
Unlike other baby banks, it provides clothes, including school uniforms, for children up until the age of 16.
They do not receive public funding and rely on voluntary help and donations, grants and help from retailers and local suppliers.
