The Princess of Wales hugged excited young fans during a tour of the newly reopened Young V&A museum.

Kate chatted to school pupils after being shown around three galleries at the museum in Bethnal Green, east London.

She listened to children telling stories with the use of objects, before saying her own children – Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, eight and five-year-old Prince Louis – “tell me stories all the time”.

Kate, who is a patron of the V&A, responded to one story by saying: “The end. Very good – I’d like to see that”.

She was then given a cuddle by two girls as she answered questions and told the young audience to “keep up the storytelling”.

One pupil, Lina, aged seven, said: “It was very nice meeting her. She was acting like a normal princess would.”

Kate also took part in a building workshop in the Play Gallery, where children from Globe Primary School created structures out of foam.

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She was also shown the Design Gallery, where she appeared impressed by a set of customised bionic arms and a sustainable clothing outfit, of which she said: “I really love it”.

Formerly known as the Museum of Childhood, the Young V&A has undergone a three-year refurbishment and is due to open to the public free of charge on Saturday, 1 July.

It was the first museum in east London when it opened in 1872.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan was among people present to greet Kate – who praised museum director, Dr Helen Charman, for the transformation of the space.

As a parting gift, she received a notebook, wooden car, badge and eraser, presented by seven-year-old Percy and Zeo, eight. She responded to the gesture by giving them both a high five.

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Dr Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A Museum, said: “What this place is about is how you create cultural confidence and creative enjoyment in the early years through objects, design, play and imagination.”

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He hailed Kate for being “across the research on this” which meant she “understood what we were trying to do with the museum”.

‘It was a slightly creepy’

Of the revamp, Dr Hunt said: “It was a wonderful space, but it was a slightly creepy, dark toy mausoleum.

“To have the kids in it today, using it in the way that we thought they might, is really validating for the project.”

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