The Duchess of Cambridge handled a corn snake on a surprise day trip to Northern Ireland. Kate Middleton, 38, visited the Ark Open Farm near Belfast on Wednesday, reports The Mirror. During her visit to the farm, the royal left viewers amazed when she calmly held a snake that was handed to her. She said that it was the first time she had ever picked a snake up.
A video shows Kate Middleton being handed the snake. "Are you sure it's OK?" she asked before reaching for the reptile.
"Oh my goodness. No way," she said, before turning to the child sitting next to her and asking: "Do you want to touch the snake?"
The duchess also complimented the pale yellow corn snake, adding: "She's got the most amazing skin. This is the first time I've ever held a snake like that. How cool is that?"
The snake's handler Sophie Wrigglesworth, told The Mirror that Kate specially requested to see the snake, even though they had not originally planned to bring it out. "But she said, 'oh no, I want to see the snake', straight away she held it," said Ms Wrigglesworth.
According to the Daily Mail, Kate Middleton visited the farm as part of her UK tour to promote '5 Big Questions on the Under-Fives' - a national survey on the wellbeing of children.
While she was there, she spoke to local parents and grandparents, pet alpacas and bottle-fed a lamb.
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