Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, shared with teens from St. Katherine’s School in Bristol that she continues to learn about her royal role “every day.” During her visit on Tuesday, part of Mental Health Awareness Week, she engaged with young people mentored by athletes through The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

According to the organization’s founder and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Dame Kelly Holmes, the students were curious about life as a royal. Holmes reported that Kate acknowledged, “She had to learn and she’s still learning every day.”

Holmes also emphasized the importance of acceptance, noting, “It’s a struggle to know you can be accepted and fit in.” She praised Princess Kate for being approachable and willing to answer questions, highlighting how her openness reminded everyone that even someone of her stature is human.

Holmes — whose The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust uses sports stars to pass on their winning mindset and give coaching to help children — tells PEOPLE that the Princess of Wales opened up about how she’s had to adjust to her public role.

“Doing public speaking isn’t a natural thing for lots of people, and she said she’s still working that out, how to project,” Holmes tells PEOPLE. “She humanized everything to show not everyone’s perfect.”

She adds, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve got or perceived to have as an individual — you’re still going to have those insecurities and need those learning tools that happen over life.”

Princess Kate also listened to the children talk about their struggles and how working with an athlete mentor has helped them manage their emotions and resilience. The youngsters, aged 11 to 19, are taking part in the trust’s On Track To Achieve program led by Paralympic gold medalist Liz Johnson.

The youth development organization brings well-being programs to children’s hospitals and schools — often targeting young people who have social, emotional and other mental health challenges.

Holmes praised Kate’s interactions with the children, telling PEOPLE, “She gave a lot of herself. I asked her the question of why she’s so passionate about mental health, and she believes ‘every young person should get a chance to be themselves.’ And every young person, especially a teenager, they’re going through a huge crisis at the moment.”

A longtime advocate for children, the royal mom of three has honed her mission towards early development and how children are supported by carers in the first few years of life.

Kate also joined the students in a few beanbag games as well as “noughts and crosses” — known stateside as tic-tac-toe.

“Through sport, you find a fight and an inner desire to be good. Sport brings you so many life s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s other than just playing. She’s sporty and is campaigning on mental health and that connection is wonderful,” Holmes tells PEOPLE, adding that Kate “knows the benefits of sport. For mental health and well-being, being active is so important.”

“We were privileged and honored to have her time,” says Holmes, who added that the princess said she enjoyed her visit with the children.

“Catherine said that what she loved about this [is] it allowed her to connect with normality,” Holmes tells PEOPLE. “It allows her to connect and just hear peoples’ stories and kind of give her a leveler. It was lovely for her to have that time and pressure off her.”