A mother's touch: Pregnant Duchess crouches on the sidewalk to talk to children in Harlem as she goes solo during first US visit

The Duchess of Cambridge was an English rose in Harlem today as she visited a childrens’ project on the first official engagement of her three-day trip to New York.
She crouched down on the New York sidewalk outside the Northside for Child Development on Fifth Avenue, and accepted a bouquet of the bright red flowers from a crowd of waiting children, before she went inside and chatted to them while helping out with an art project.

She was accompanied by writer and poet Chirlane McCray, the First Lady of the New York City, at the public appearance, where she also wrapped Christmas presents for the children before heading off for an intimate lunch at the British Consul General’s official residence.

Meanwhile her husband Prince William, flew on a scheduled flight to Washington, D.C., where he met President Obama at the White House. Sitting in the Oval Office the two shared a joke about William's recent fatherhood - when the prince revealed he forgot to check whether Prince George was a boy or a girl when he was born a year and a half ago.