Kate visits Bethnal Green school for Children's Mental Health Week

The Princess of Wales joined pupils of St John's Church of England Primary School in a craft lesson

The Princess of Wales has urged school pupils in east London to "keep talking about feelings" in a campaign for Children's Mental Health Week.

Catherine chatted to youngsters at a craft lesson at St John's Church of England Primary School in Bethnal Green and asked how they coped with emotions.

The princess is the royal patron of the children's charity Place2Be, which founded the annual awareness week.

She said she was a "firm believer" in giving children the skills they need.

Catherine made paper chains with pupils in a video released as the awareness week began, which encourages youngsters to make meaningful connections with others to support their mental wellbeing.

One boy told the princess "connecting releases our emotions to other people that we care about".

Another classmate said: "I take deep breaths in, then I drink a glass of water" when the princess asked how they coped with strong feelings.

At the end of the session, Catherine said: "Well, thank you for having a chat with me today.

"And keep talking about your feelings and keep asking others how they're doing and helping them to talk about their feelings as well.

The princess is the royal patron of the children's charity Place2Be, which founded Children's Mental Health Week.

"I'm a firm believer in giving children the skills that they need for life and focusing on their social and emotional development," she added.

Children's Mental Health Week was founded in 2015 with the aim of building awareness and understanding children and young people's mental health, a spokeswoman for Place2Be said.

"All week schools, families, youth groups will be getting involved and taking part.

"People thrive in communities and when we have really good positive connections with others, that's really, really good for our emotional health and well being."

Last week, the princess launched her Shaping Us campaign, a project described as her "life's work" and aimed at raising the profile of the early years development of children.

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