UK Edition
The Duchess of Cambridge is known for her ladylike elegance, so the acquisition of a tattoo on her hand might shock some royal fans.
The inking is however only temporary, with the floral design drawn on with henna.
The Duchess, 36, got the 'tattoo' while on a visit to Sunderland with the Duke of Cambridge.
The couple officially opened a new music and arts hub housed in a formerly derelict fire station in the north-east city.
Chatting to a group from Young Asian Voices at The Fire Station, Catherine, who is seven months pregnant with her third child, asked if one of the girls would draw a henna design on her hand.
The Duchess seemed delighted when Shajida Begum, 18, drew a black flower with a swirl.
Miss Begum said: "I said 'Would you like a design?' and she was like 'Yes, if you don't mind'.
"She was saying that it was really pretty.
"I was just telling her how it works. I was telling her when she can wash it off - I said 'when it becomes flakey'."
Kate also asked the girls for a pack of bindis, which she said she wanted for her daughter Charlotte.
The Fire Station is a £3.5 million centre which forms part of a huge regeneration project turning a once neglected corner of Edwardian Sunderland into a new arts quarter.
It will be part of a trio of arts venues including a soon-to-open £6.5 million 450-seat performance centre, The Auditorium, alongside the long established 2,000-seat Empire Theatre.
Earlier the royal couple went on a walkabout to greet a 500-strong crowd who had turned out to see them arrive at the arts hub.