On Clyde's side: Tartan Kate comes to Glasgow

Amongst the group of onlookers in line to meet the couple was Clyde, the Commonwealth Games mascot.

Kate met Clyde and his designer, 12-year-old Beth Gilmour, from Cumbernauld. It emerged that the thistle mascot had earlier asked if he could pat Kate's bump.

Glasgow 2014 marketing manager Samantha Jones said: "Clyde doesn't speak but he was gesturing to Kate about her baby as if to congratulate her.

"Before the visit he was asking if he could pat the bump, but we told him no.

"When he was signalling to her about the baby, she just laughed and said 'Oh yes, the baby. Thank you very much.'"

Kate was dressed in a £425 tartan coat by Moloh, a Gloucestershire-based label which she has worn for previous engagements. The blue and grey tartan is a one-off fabric, designed by the brand.

Kate wears tartan for her visit to Glasgow

At the Emirates Arena, William and Kate met Games organisers and budding athletes, before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark their visit.

The couple delighted onlookers by stopping to chat, and William accepted a little girl's request for a kiss from a prince.

Four-year-old Shona Ritchie was dressed in her favourite green and gold princess outfit complete with a gold crown as she stood outside the arena with her family.

Her mother, Karen Ritchie, 34, from Croftfoot, Glasgow, said Shona had waited all morning to ask William for a kiss but, as he leaned over, she became shy.

"She's been dressed up like that since 6am today and we've been here waiting since nine," Mrs Ritchie said.

"But when she finally plucked up the courage to ask him, she got really shy and pulled away. As he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead she pulled away and got really shy.

"This is the quietest she's been all day."

Kate also stopped to talk to Shona, who gave the Duchess a red flower she had picked out of her mother's vase at home.

Mrs Ritchie said: "She said Shona looked very pretty and asked her if she had picked the flower from her garden, but Shona told her she got it from my vase in the house and she thought that was very funny."

The Earl and Countess also watched pole vaulters, badminton players and a netball match.

Seven-year-old Audrey Grevemberg, the daughter of Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg, gave the couple a big silver gift bag with Commonwealth Games jumpers inside.

William accepted the gift and knelt down to speak to the girl while Kate smiled.

When asked if she enjoyed meeting the royal couple, Audrey said she did.

Kate also chatted to teenagers who started learning to pole vault three days ago as part of an Easter holiday course.

Iona Menzies, 14, from Glasgow, said: "It was such an honour to meet her. She's so pretty in real life.

"It was quite nerve-wracking but she was really encouraging and said we should keep working at it.

"She said she had never seen the pole vault before so it was nice to be able to show her it up close."

Rachel Campbell, also 14, from Erskine, Renfrewshire, said: "She was really friendly and just asking us how difficult it is.

"I was nervous but my heartbeat is calming down now."

The Countess gave Scott Connal, 13, from Lenzie, Glasgow, a round of applause as he completed his vault.

"I do lots of athletics so I'm used to people clapping at big competitions but never from royalty, it was really inspiring," he said.

William later donned headphones to play DJ at a homeless centre for young people.

The crowd who gathered to meet the Earl were delighted when he agreed to a crash course in mixing on the decks.

He tried his hand at "scratching" but claimed it was harder than his day job flying a helicopter.

"I think I should come better prepared next time," he said after his attempt at mixing Run DMC's It's Like That with another record, a collection of beats and samples.

The Countess meanwhile turned producer as she called "cut" during a filming session, one of several workshops available for youngsters at the Quarrier's Stopover Project on Glasgow's southside.

Kate reassured the camera-shy "actors" and applauded when they finished their pieces.

Later she admitted that knitting was so far not one of her strong points when a resident presented her with a woollen hat for her child along with a teddy bear and babygro.

She said: "I've been trying to knit and I'm really bad. I should be asking for tips."

She told 17-year-old Caitlin Coffield: "It's very sweet of you, I'll keep it safe for the big day."

The Stopover Project provides short-term accommodation and support to 16 to 25-year-olds.

The centre has beds for 14 needy young people who as well as being homeless often have alcohol or drug addiction problems or mental health issues.

The centre works with other agencies to help them tackle their issues and find a permanent home.

Sometimes they stay for weeks, while others take refuge at the centre for up to a year.

The Earl is patron of Centrepoint, another charity that has been providing support for rough sleepers for decades.

William and Kate then went on to the Glasgow Club Donald Dewar leisure centre in the Drumchapel area of the city, where they played each other in a short game of table tennis.

Onlookers cheered the pair on before they were joined in a doubles match by Yaser Razouk, 14, from Bearsden, Glasgow, and 16-year-old Stephen Grimes, from Drumchapel, who are both members of the Drumchapel Table Tennis Club.

Both the boys agreed that Kate won in her match against William, and Yaser said he thought they would make "a really good doubles team".

He said: "We knew before they came that we were going to give them the bats, but I never thought we'd end up playing with them.

"When they were playing each other at singles William was convinced he was winning but I think it was Kate who ended up the winner."

Stephen, who was partnered with Kate in the doubles, said: "They're both quite good.

"The club played with David Cameron when he visited quite a while ago; I would say Kate is better than him.

"Kate and William would be a really good doubles team."

The Countess also tried her hand at basketball, shooting eight hoops before she eventually scored on her ninth.

Alec Watt, 67, chairman of the Glasgow Eagles multi-sport club for people with special needs, watched Kate's attempts.

"She was watching some of the youngsters shooting hoops and she said to us, 'can I try that?'," he said.

"Of course we let her. It took her a few shots but when she scored everyone gave her a big cheer."

During their visit to the Donald Dewar centre, the couple launched the first Scottish pilot of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry's Coach Core programme.

It is designed to help at least 20 young people into 18-month coaching apprenticeships ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The first Coach Core programme was launched prior to the London 2012 Olympics and it is hoped the Glasgow project will build on the success of that, as the city also bids to host the Glasgow 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

The royal couple, known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn when in Scotland, will also travel to Dumfries House in Ayrshire.

The 18th century mansion was bought, along with its contents and adjoining land, by a consortium led by the Prince of Wales in June 2007.

Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, will join his son and daughter-in-law as the Manoukian Foundation, a new outdoor centre for uniformed youth services and schools, is opened in the grounds.

The visit will be marked by a fly-past of three Typhoons from 6 Squadron, RAF Leuchars - a base close to St Andrews University in Scotland where William and Kate first met as students.

The couple will then travel to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, to learn about the new Astute Class of nuclear powered submarines being built for the Royal Navy by BAE Systems.