The Earl and Countess of Wessex surprised everyone yesterday as they took a family day out to Bristol Zoo.
Prince Edward and wife Sophie were joined by their children, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, for an engagement at the zoo. It was just the Earl and Countess who were scheduled to attend.
The Earl is patron of the Bristol Zoological Society, and he was there to open the new Mahali Pori exhibit, accompanied by his wife Sophie, located in Wild Place Project, an extension to Bristol Zoo.
Edward, 51, unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.
Lady Louise, 12, and James, 8, looked excited as they fed hungry lemurs and meerkats.
The Wessex children are often seen at equine events with their parents, and usually Trooping the Colour and the Easter church service at Windsor, but Sophie and Edward generally keep their children away from the public eye.