As she fussed and hovered over an adorable blonde baby girl, the Duchess of Cambridge couldn’t have looked more at ease. While the future queen was supposed to be watching Prince William compete in a charity polo event, it was clear she only had eyes for Savannah Phillips, the 18-month-old daughter of Wills’ cousin Peter and his wife Autumn, and Princess Anne’s grandchild.

It's no secret Kate and William will soon be ready to produce a royal heir, but for now, thanks to a hectic travelling schedule in coming months, clucky Kate is content with getting as much practice as possible with other people’s children.

Before dashing to her husband’s side at the polo in Gloucestershire, Kate chaperoned 150 children with behavioural difficulties at a theatre production of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, before bogging down in the mud with 28 underprivileged school students on a camping trip the next day.

While William revealed in a recent interview that he was looking to scale down on his Royal Air Force commitments "to have children", in reality, a little princess or prince is at least six months away, thanks to a gruelling Jubilee tour of Asia and the South Pacific planned for September.

Read more and see more pictures of Kate in this week's Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.