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A day after her brother-in-law Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton was all smiles as she stepped out for the first time since the big engagement news.
“William and I are absolutely thrilled,” she told reporters early Tuesday at the Foundling Museum in London. “It’s such exciting news. It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
The royal mom was at the museum to learn more about the way it uses art and creativity as a means to support and engage children and vulnerable families.
Kate, 35, who has supported art therapy for the role it plays in some of the charities she backs, met families and children — including preschoolers — who have benefited from the museum’s education and outreach programs.
The Duchess of Cambridge, in a dress by Kate Spade, was introduced to the museum which celebrates the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by the philanthropist Thomas Coram to care for babies at risk of abandonment. It was the United Kingdom’s first children’s charity and first public art gallery. The hospital continues today as the children’s charity Coram.
Coram’s partnership with artist William Hogarth, who encouraged leading artists of the day to donate work, and George Frideric Handel, who held benefit concerts in the Hospital’s chapel, are early examples of how the arts support philanthropy.
From 1741 when the first babies were admitted, to 1954 when the last pupil was placed in foster care, the Foundling Hospital cared for and educated around 25,000 children.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.
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