Children’s author ‘mortified’ after hat falls off during investiture

Former children's laureate Julia Donaldson said she was left feeling "mortified" when her hat fell off as she was made a CBE by the Duke of Cambridge.

Donaldson, the author of popular children's book The Gruffalo, quickly caught her John Lewis hat as it fell off the back of her head, and shared a laugh with William.

The duke's daughter, Princess Charlotte, celebrates her fourth birthday on Thursday and William discussed party plans and The Gruffalo with the author.

She said: "He said it's his daughter birthday today and he loves the book, he reads my stories to his children, and he said he was going to have quite a rowdy party – he's got a lot of children (coming)."