The little boy who grabbed the Princess of Wales‘ Mulberry handbag is known as ‘The Hurricane’ because he never stops and ‘he’s into everything’, according to his mother.
Daniel Williams, one, was with his mum Lucy, 30, when he started playing with the buckle on the Princess of Wales’s £695 bag as she chatted with the crowds in Aberfan, South Wales.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were visiting to pay tribute to those who lost their lives during the coal-tip landslide in October 1966.
When Daniel made a sudden grab for the handbag, Kate said: ‘It’s okay he can have it.’
Mother-of-two Lucy, a nurse, said: ‘Princess Kate came up to speak to us and Daniel was being a bit restless.
Daniel Williams (left), one, was with his mum Lucy (centre), 30, when he started playing with the buckle on the Princess of Wales’s £695 bag as she chatted with the crowds in Aberfan, South Wales
The Princess of Wales laughed as she handed over her Mulberry handbag to one-year-old Daniel Williams in Aberfan
‘He was playing with the buckle on her handbag when he suddenly grabbed it off her.
‘Kate just laughed and said it’s hard to keep little ones occupied. You can keep it, I’ll get it back afterwards.’
Lucy said Daniel was an inquisitive child and she and her husband Jonathan, 33, have nicknamed him ‘hurricane’.
‘He’s like a whirlwind, always on the go and into everything,’ she said.
Lucy said she didn’t delve into the contents of the Royal accessory. ‘I didn’t think it was my place,’ she said.
Asked if she’d ever owned a Mulberry handbag herself, the NHS nurse replied: ‘Sadly not, they are quite expensive.’
Little Daniel, who has the nickname ‘The Hurricaine’, is pictured with his family
The cheeky toddler refused to give the bag back to the Princess of Wales during the walkabout and then proceeded to drop it
Lucy, who has a little girl Lili, four, handed the bag back to the Princess who went on to continue her visit to the Aberfan Memorial Gardens, near Merthyr Tydfil.
Edinburgh-born Lucy, who works at Prince Charles hospital in Merthyr Tydfil said the new Princess of wales was a big hit with everyone she met during the hour-long visit.
She said: ‘She was lovely, a real people’s princess who knows what it’s like to keep a child amused.
‘She was very happy to let Daniel have it for a few minutes.’
Speaking to ITV News, Lucy explained how Kate made her feel at ease in what could have been an embarrassing moment.
She explained: ‘I think she sympathised with how hard it is with children. She said, ‘He can have it to play with, I’ll come back for it!’ Like it was any other person in the street.’
The royal couple paid tribute at the site of tragedy in which 144 were killed, including 116 children.
The couple were greeted by schoolchildren at the site, while survivor Gaynor Madgwick showed Kate a number of newspaper cuttings about previous royal visits to the area.
The Prince and Princess were then guided around the garden by one of the Aberfan survivors, David Davies, and Professor Peter Vaughan, Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.
The royal pair also met trustees from the Aberfan Memorial Trust who are involved in ensuring the maintenance of the garden, as well as some of the ‘Aberfan Wives’, relatives of the children who lost their lives during the coal-tip landslide.
The Prince and Princess were shown around the garden by survivor David, who was eight when the coal-tip landslide happened
