Fearless Kate bravely stroked the tarantula while William played with the python (VIDEO)

During a visit to the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge discovered that they had acquired ‘lots of animals’ during the lockdown and told the students that spending time with pets helped them a lot because it was ‘like therapy’.

The royal couple also boasted that ‘a lot of chickens’ had joined their home zoo in Norfolk and Kensington Palace.

During a visit to a petting zoo on the campus of the University of Ulster, Duchess Kate bravely petted a tarantula named Charlotte in her arms while Prince William held a snake.

The full-day visit to the Magee campus of the University of Ulster, began with a meeting with female students, with whom they had previously spoken via video link, to hear about their experiences working in hospitals with covid patients and studying during a pandemic.

They also visited a zoo for pets organized by the mobile zoo company KidzFarm, which regularly comes to campus. Looking at the chickens in the cages, the Duchess said, ‘We had a lot of animals during the closure. During quarantine, animals are often like therapy. '

Seeing the tarantula in the cage, she asked, ‘Oh, please, can I keep the tarantula? What's her name?'

They told her the animal's name was Charlotte - as was their daughter - when Kate just laughed and said, 'Oh, really?'

When the tarantula Charlotte began to crawl on Kate's arm, William joked that she must have been attracted to her clothes, an intense purple suit by fashion designer Emilia Wickstead.

‘Maybe she’s not a fan of purple or thinks you’re a flower,’ he said.

He himself held a snake in his hands which he said was 'very cool' and added: 'George is obsessed with snakes - he will be very upset that he missed this.'

The couple also visited a student union that organized a get-together and a fair to introduce new students to local customs.

Of the food and drink offered, William opted for whiskey, while Kate took a little Guinness. 'That's what I'm talking about! I think I decided on whiskey ', said the Duke of Cambridge, and then rushed for homemade bread.

Sitting with the students, the royal couple joined a game in which Irish names were displayed on the screen and they had to guess how to pronounce them. "I'm going to have another drink - this isn't going well for me," joked William.

Finally, the time came for them to learn something from the local language, so the students - with partial success - tried to teach them various local expressions.

Before leaving, the couple joined a group of students playing traditional instruments. As they listened to the music, one student shouted, ‘Dance!’, To which the duke pointed to his wife and said, ‘She loves to dance’. The Duchess laughed, but more or less added, 'No, no, no!'

The royal couple also watched a first aid and resuscitation exercise at a special simulation and training clinic, built on campus to train paramedics in their first year of college.

The couple then headed to the new Medical School, where the students had an anatomy class.

After watching a couple of students practicing the blood draw procedure, they showed them a very realistic model of the hand the duke raised, showed it to his wife, and joked, 'You could do anything with it.'

The Duchess also inquired about extracurricular care and said: 'Is your well-being taken care of and how are you? You are exposed to a lot of stress that you have to deal with. '

William said, ‘It’s one thing to talk about mental health, and it’s another thing to really follow that idea. It is the duty of your superiors to carry it out. '

They ended the trip by visiting a sports initiative among communities at the City of Derry rugby club, where they met players, coaches, and volunteers from the Sport Uniting Communities program.

They watched the children play mini rugby and football and briefly got involved themselves.

‘We’re really impressed with what you’ve achieved here, looking at all the smiling faces outside, everyone running around, playing sports, and having a really good time. That's fantastic, 'said William.

'I think the fact that communities get together and work together, play together, have fun together, is a really strong message that you send.'

By: Olivia J. - Gossip Whispers