He's faced awkward moments before, but Prince William was almost lost for words when a six-year-old girl spoke up on Tuesday.

"Did your mummy die?" she asked.

William was taken aback, but bowed slightly and immediately replied: "Yes she did, it was pretty sad."

The second in line to the throne then opened the Adventures of Possum Magic and read it cover to cover for the children of the Redfern Community Centre, the Aboriginal heartland of Sydney.

It was not meant to be the highlight of the first day of the prince's visit to Australia.

But it was the most tender, and a scene reminiscent of the sort his mother Princess Diana often found herself in.

Prince William says he does not have the same affinity with children as his mother.

But on Tuesday he was king of the kids, ignoring his busy schedule to spend an extra hour laughing, reading and playing computer games with the children.

"I wouldn't say I was anywhere near her level. She had a fantastic affinity with kids and with everyone," he said earlier.

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