JUBILEE TOUR: 'Kind' Kate reveals to Leicester woman she's missing Prince William

The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed she misses Prince William "terribly" since he began his tour of duty in the Falklands.

Kate confided in Laura Murphy as she met members of the public near the Clock Tower.

Laura, 30, of Syston, said: "I congratulated her on her wedding and she said 'thank you', before telling me Will was fine but that she was missing him terribly.

"You get a feeling of real honestly and kindness when you speak to her. She was so smiley."

However, the Duchess was distracted from thoughts of William when posy girl six-year-old Keira Laing tugged at her dress and demanded to know who she was.

The youngster ran to the Duchess, presented her with flowers and said: "Are you the Queen? Who are you? Where have you been?"

Keira said: "I'm feeling pretty good now. I was here to give the Queen and the princess a present."

Foster carer Angela Hoult said Keira was the "perfect girl for the role".

She said: "She is so chatty and bubbly and has so much to say."

The Queen received a posy from six-year-old Aaliyah Khan, who had been practising her curtsy all week.

"There are quite a lot of people so I had to make sure I got it right," she said.

Earlier, the royal party had made its way from St Martin's House along High Street, where they were treated to a display of Asian dancing as part of celebrations of the Hindu festival of Holi.

They then stopped at a small stage, where city major Sir Peter Soulsby officially welcomed them to Leicester.

He asked the Queen to unveil a plaque, which will be placed in Jubilee Square, a £4 million public space being created to commemorate the visit.

The crowd then accompanied the Band of the King's Division in a rendition of God Save the Queen before Sir Peter led the crowd in three cheers for the monarch.

After the ceremony, Sir Peter said: "I could tell by the roars and cheers as I was doing the speech that what I was saying was on behalf of everybody.

"The enthusiasm of the people of Leicester was fantastic and they did an amazing job of making the royals feel very welcome."

Prince Philip did not miss out on the floral gifts.

He marched over to Angela Taylor, 60, of Syston, who presented a bunch of tulips.

She said: "He asked if they were for him and I told him they were."

The Duke, who had a spell in hospital last year, asked who the flowers were from.

"He said to me 'don't just say they are from you, tell me your name,' so I said 'they are from Angela.'

"He looked brilliant, to be fair, really good considering he was ill so recently."

As the party moved towards the end of the parade route, the Duchess stopped to speak to a small girl who reached out to shake her hand.

Laurette Grace, 29, of Narborough Road, Leicester, said: "I saw Kate go up to the little girl to shake her hand and then she saw that the girl was shivering.

"She started rubbing the little girl's arms to keep her warm – it was really sweet."

The Duchess was presented with a personal gift from assistant city mayor Manjula Sood.

"She held my hand as we walked down Humberstone Gate and she asked me all about the dancing and said she felt like joining in.

"She was so lovely. I gave her a black shawl with traditional Kashmiri embroidery as a personal gift," Coun Sood said.

Among the crowds in Humberstone Gate, Gallowtree Gate and High Street was Nicola Considine, 32, of Enderby, with seven-month-old son Louis.

She said: "I remember seeing Princess Diana at Bosworth Battlefield when I was about seven and really loving it, so I brought Louis along to wave.

"I've already had a glimpse of Catherine and she's looking absolutely stunning.

"Unfortunately, Louis is a bit overwhelmed by the excitement and has fallen fast asleep."

Maryan Anshur, 49, of Highfields, Leicester, and two friends were looking forward to seeing the Queen for the first time.

She said: "We're all from Somalia and we want to welcome the Queen to Leicester.

"We've also brought our Somali flag because Leicester is such a good, multi-cultural city."

*Don't miss the 24-page souvenir edition picture special in Saturday's Mercury.

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See more pictures from royal party visit to De Montfort Uni, Leicester Cathedral and the Clock Tower here