Kate drums up sore hands at children's mental health centre

The Duchess of Cambridge beat out a festive rhythm when she joined a group of youngsters for a drumming workshop at a children's mental health centre.

Kate was left with sore hands after her 15-minute session with pupils, and their parents, from a school run by the Anna Freud Centre, a leading charity in research, teaching and the provision of care for children and young people with mental health issues.

She also revealed that she is a fan of Chelsea Football Club and was given a high five by one little boy when the pair discovered they supported the same team.

The Duchess's red Alexander McQueen outfit meant she was unable to hold the instrument between her legs like everyone else so instead placed it to one side.

But she still pounded the West African djembe drum with the palms of her hands and smiled and laughed as she followed the deafening rhythms, similar to the beat from the Queen song We Will Rock You.

Kate was an enthusiastic drummer despite sitting between two expert youngsters, Kai Bromley and Capone Duggan, both 12, who played solos.

The Duchess had joined the school's Christmas celebrations at the centre in King's Cross, central London, and Capone, from Hackney, east London, described how he helped their famous guest.

He said: "We were speaking about how to hold the drum. I was showing her how to do it but it wasn't easy for her to hold it properly because she was in a dress.

"Everybody was having fun, she really enjoyed it. She was making the right sound. My hands were sore and she asked me how they were and she said her hands were also sore."

The session had been taken by Jude Winwood, founder of the drumming workshop BeatFeet, who said: "The drumming gives the children a voice and they can express themselves when words aren't enough.

"I thought the Duchess was fantastic, she has such good rhythm, she dug in deep and coped really well."