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Scout group’s surprise visit from Princess Kate

Sarah Spina-Matthews
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Kensington Palace Princess Kate crouches among a group of three girls and one boy. The kids are wearing scout uniforms. They are all looking at a map which is on the grass. Kensington Palace
Scout groups from Cumbria and Greater Manchester met the Princess

Scouts were “jumping up and down with excitement” when they were treated to a surprise visit from the Princess of Wales, their leader has said.

Princess Kate met the group from Cumbria’s 1st Ulverston Scouts, alongside chief scout Dwayne Fields and scouts from Greater Manchester, while making a short film to promote the importance of spending time in nature.

The film, released by Kensington Palace, was filmed last month at Windermere in the Lake District.

Leader of 1st Ulverston Scouts Harry Mitchell said: “We knew we were going to meet Dwayne Fields, but it wasn’t until halfway through they day we were told we were actually meeting Her Royal Highness.”

He told BBC Radio Cumbria: “[The scouts] were all really, really excited.

“We had a couple jumping up and down with excitement, one shed a tear.”

Kensington Palace Princess Kate stands smiling and holding a glass of water in front of a late. Girls are sat at a table in front of her eating ice creams and smiling. Kensington Palace
Princess Kate says she loves spending time in nature

Mr Mitchell said the Princess, who has been joint president of the Scouts since 2020, had been “very down to earth”, leading a challenge for the group to earn their naturalist badges.

He said: “She loved speaking to the scouts about what they get up to in their own time, what skills they’re learning, how they interact with nature and how much time they spend outside.

“She’s the one that presented them with the naturalist badge at the end of the day,” he added.

Mr Mitchell said the promotion of the scouting movement was “really important” for young people.

“They come in as really shy 10-year-olds and they leave as quite confident 14-year-olds with outdoor skills and also people skills.”

Kensington Palace Princess Kate stands smiling with his arm around a man. He is wearing a scouts tie and a navy jumper. They are standing in front of a lake. Kensington Palace
The Princess met chief Scout Dwayne Fields for the first time

In the film, the Princess, who is in remission from cancer, said spending time in nature gave her a "sense of peace" in a "very busy world".

Mr Fields, who became chief scout in 2024, said of the film: "In an increasingly complex world digital technology has its place, but the few hours we spent in the hills without screens was magical.”

“We are often at our best in the outdoors, and I want more young people to experience outdoor adventures like this for themselves,” he added.

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