The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed how her daughter, Princess Charlotte, has inherited the British royal family's love of horses.

Kate, the wife of Prince William, spoke of 17-month-old Charlotte's enthusiasm at a reception for the successful 2016 British Olympic and Paralympic teams held at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday and attended by Queen Elizabeth II.

The queen, William's grandmother, is a noted horsewoman and racing enthusiast in her own right.

Both Princess Anne and Zara Phillips, the queen's daughter and grand-daughter, rode for the British equestrian team at the Olympics.

And Kate, talking to Natasha Baker, who won two equestrian golds at this year's Paralympic Games in Rio, indicated Charlotte might yet follow suit.

Recalling her palace conversation with Kate, Baker said: "I asked her how are the children, and she said George really enjoyed the fencing and Charlotte really enjoyed her riding. It obviously got to her and maybe she will be here in a few years time.

"She emphasised that Charlotte has this passion about horses, and although she doesn't echo it, she'll do her best to champion and encourage it."

Meanwhile the queen talked to Britain's Nick Skelton, who won Olympic showjumping gold in Rio on Big Star.

"The queen was asking about Big Star and we were talking about her horse Dartmouth, who ran on Sunday in Canada," said Skelton.

"You don't need to give the queen any advice, she's very knowledgeable about all equestrian sports. She can tell me a thing or two."

Earlier on Tuesday, some 6,000 fans gathered in Trafalgar Square for a parade lauding the achievements of the 2016 British team.

'The Heroes Return', as it was called, came after the British Olympic and Paralympic teams both finished second in their respective overall medal tables in Brazil.

In Rio, the British team became the first nation to increase its medal haul immediately after staging an Olympics, taking 67 -- two more than at London 2012 -- while ParalympicsGB returned with 147 medals, including 64 golds.

Olympic sprint swimming champion Adam Peaty, speaking at the parade, said he hoped Britain's success at this year's Rio Olympics would act as a springboard for another large medal haul at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Peaty broke his own world record to win Britain's first gold of the Games in the men's 100 metres breaststroke before taking a silver in the 4x100m medley relay.\

"Swimming has had a rough spot these past four years," he told the cheering crowd. "But thankfully we have a strong and hungry team who can inspire millions of kids around the world and that's what it's all about for us.

"Hopefully you can all go on and take some of that gold into your lives and that's exactly why us Olympians and Paralympians do it."

Source: AFP