PRINCE William ditched the royal rulebook to hug a tearful OAP during a visit to Scotland yesterday.
The Duke of Cambridge embraced pensioner William Burns, 66, who was overcome with emotion at meeting the future king on his two-day tour of the country.
Such interactions with the public usually involve a bow, curtsey or polite handshake, as has been royal tradition for centuries.
But Wills ripped up the rulebook to greet his namesake in Glasgow.
The Duke was joined by wife Kate for the Scottish visit – their first walkabout since rumours of a “royal revolution” at the weekend.
The couple allegedly want to scrap their titles and use their first names in a bid to keep the monarchy modern.
READ MORE ROYAL NEWS
They received a warm welcome by the Wheatley Group – a community hub which transforms the lives of disadvantaged young people and families.
But elsewhere on their visit, the Duchess of Cambridge called for schools to teach empathy to young children to help their “emotional vocabulary” as adults.
Kate, 40, cooed over 10-month-old ‘tiny teacher’ Saul Molloy during a fun lesson with children as part of a baby parent programme.
The aim of the project is to teach children empathy and Kate yesterday called for it to be spread to more schools across the country.
Wills and Kate joined 35 seven-year-old children for the Roots of Empathy class at St John’s Primary School in Port Glasgow.
The scheme by Action For Children, for which Kate is patron, has been running in Scotland for 12 years.
Results are said to show a reduction in violence in adults who have been to classes with babies and greater signs of empathy and emotional intelligence.
Kate removed her navy blue jacket, and sat cross-legged in blue trousers, blouse and heels for the class yesterday.
Saul has been a so-called ‘tiny teacher’ since he was four months old spending one lesson every week with the children.
The youngsters quizzed Saul’s mum Laura Molloy, 34, on updates such as whether he was walking and his height, before playing with toys with Saul on a green mat.
Wills and Kate joined in nursery rhymes singing and making the required actions Wheels on the Bus and Incy Wincy Spider.
Jokey William also squeaked the sole of his shoe on the floor to get Saul’s attention before quipping: “Can you get my wife out of here before she gets broody?”
‘LOVELY’ KATE
At the end of the session, Kate asked: “Do you think lots of schools should have a programme like this?”
After the 35 kids all sang out “yes”, Kate glanced at William and responded saying: “We do too.”
The Cambridges then joined 12-year-olds Annie Jones and Zac Hughes, who previously took the Roots of Empathy classes when they were younger.
Describing the class, Kate said: “It’s really amazing as he first came in so small and is now crawling around.”
She told them more schools should have classes such as the one she witnessed and spoke about the importance of “emotional vocabulary” and “expressing negative emotions” as an adult.
Mum-of-three Kate then looked delighted as she got to hold baby Saul in her arms and help him leaf through a children’s book called ‘That’s not my dinosaur’.
Afterwards, Laura Molloy, 34, said: “She was really lovely and she said that she would like to see this in every school because it’s such an inspirational programme.
“She thought it was beneficial and could tell by the kids’ reaction how much they love the baby.
“She also loved Saul too and held him for a moment in her arms and said she loves this baby stage. You could tell how motherly she is.”
The royal couple were cheered outside by 150 pupils waving Action For Children balloons.
Schoolgirl Aria Dow gifted the couple a bottle of gin on behalf of the school.
William joked: “Well that’s mine.”
Kimberley Murray, year one teacher, said: “The duchess asked Jacob (five years old) what he likes to do and he said he likes climbing trees.
“The duchess said, ‘I like climbing trees as well’.”
Roots of Empathy was set up in Canada.
Since 2010, Action for Children has delivered Roots of Empathy to over 29,000 pupils across 28 Local Authorities in Scotland.
The award-winning programme helps promote emotional competence and development of empathy in primary school children, decreases aggression, including bullying, and has been found to increase prosocial behaviours such as caring, sharing and inclusion.
An independent report which Paul Carberry discussed with the Duke and Duchess shed light on how impactful the programme has been since it launched in Scotland.
One key finding reported in the 10-year evaluation found 96 per cent of teachers felt pupils were talking more about their feelings, while 75 per cent stated pupils were more empathetic to one another.
Read More on The Celeb Report
The study also found 80 per cent of pupils reported a better understanding in how others feel and that 86 per cent were more social towards their classmates.
It comes after Kate set up her The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood last summer which she exported to Denmark earlier this year.
