Prince George loves 'scary' T Rex, Duchess of Cambridge reveals

Prince George loves dinosaurs and likes the T Rex because it is "the noisiest and scariest", the Duchess of Cambridge has revealed.

The duchess was at the Natural History Museum in London for a children's tea party to bid farewell to one of the museum's best-recognised exhibits, the enormous skeleton of a Diplodocus.

The 21.3 metre plaster-cast sauropod replica, affectionately known as Dippy and made up of 292 bones, is going on a nationwide tour.

Kate, who was wearing a patterned LK Bennett dress, joined pupils from the Wimbledon-based Oakington Manor Primary School as they made dinosaur egg topped pencils.

The duchess could be seen delicately gluing red and white patterned paper onto the shell as she asked the youngsters if they liked the T Rex and quizzed them on their dinosaur knowledge.

Kate, who has been a patron of the museum since 2013, told the children: "George loves the T Rex because it's the noisiest and the scariest."

Elizabeth, 10, said the duchess told her that the young prince "likes dinosaurs and volcanoes", while Anastazja, 10, added: "She said he was learning about that in school."

The duchess could also be heard asking the children if they had seen the films Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, which she thought were "brilliant" and that she remembered seeing the original film as a little girl and that she "really enjoyed it".

Kate joined other pupils from the school, which supports one of her chosen mental health charities Place2Be, in activities which included a mini fossil dig, before she and the pupils cut a Dippy-shaped farewell celebratory cake.

The duchess then posed for a good luck photo in front of Dippy, cheering along with the children as they wished him well on his tour.

Crouching down to talk to the youngsters before she left, Daytahne, 10, said he asked her what car she drove.

He said: "She said a Land Rover, she said she loves it and said it is really good in the dirt.

"She also said Charlotte is extremely chatty and she always wants to have a play date with George."

Dippy's last day on show at the Natural History Museum will be on January 4, 2017. Conservators will take the next 12 months preparing him for his tour, which will last until late 2020.

His coveted spot at the entrance to the museum is being taken by the real skeleton of a 25.2 metre female blue whale, weighing 4.5 tonnes.

Dippy's tour starts in early 2018, and will include the Dorset County Museum, which has a gallery dedicated to Britain's fossil-rich Jurassic Coast.

Dippy will then travel to Birmingham Museum, Ulster Museum, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Great North Museum in Newcastle, the National Assembly of Wales in Cardiff, Number One Riverside in Rochdale, and Norwich Cathedral.

Natural History Museum director Sir Michael Dixon said the duchess is a "very supportive patron" of the museum and "comes on private visits occasionally with the children".

"George is very keen on dinosaurs - apparently he would have loved to come today," he added.

"She did remark on the fact that as her children get older she is going to have to mug up on the names of dinosaurs.

"She is actually very knowledgeable on the natural world and passionate about oceans. She is a keen scuba diver. She is very, very keen to engage more with the museum and its collections.

"She has been behind the scenes on a number of occasions and talked to some of our researchers and seen quite a lot of our collection areas."