Kate takes part in festive activities at children's mental health centre

The Duchess of Cambridge got in the festive spirit during a visit to a leading children's mental health centre when she joined youngsters making a Christmas tree.

Kate sat down at tables with the school children making paper copies of their hands with their parents.

The youngsters attend 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.

The hand designs formed part of a Christmas tree collage celebrating the children's achievements this term with positive messages written on the fingers.

The Duchess, who wore a red Alexander McQueen outfit, wrote one message on a finger and at another table watched as the children carefully cut around the shapes of their hands.

The centre is named after the pioneer of child psychoanalysis - and daughter of the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud - who was instrumental in its creation.

She set up the Hampstead War Nurseries in 1941 in response to the social and emotional upheaval faced by children in wartime, and over the decades it developed into a centre of teaching and research and a major service provider.

The Duchess visited the centre in Kings Cross, central London, in September to learn about its work and development plans for the future.