Princess Kate Is a 'Bit of a Hot Shot' in Heart Earrings for Valentine's Day!

She out-aimed the cadets!

Princess Kate is feeling the love.

The royal, who stepped out on Valentine’s Day for a “date” with Royal Air Force (RAF) cadets in Cambridgeshire, England on Tuesday, was in the holiday spirit, wearing a red blazer paired with heart-shaped earrings.

The delicate hearts are a rewear: They’re her Kiki McDonough Lauren earrings in gold with pavé diamonds. The Lauren collection is inspired by British ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson.

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Meanwhile, one of Kate’s hidden talents emerged on Tuesday when she tried out a simulated shooting exercise that uses real rifles linked to computer targets.

“She’s a bit of a hot shot, I can let you know now! She beat the cadets,” Dawn McCafferty, Commandant of the RAF Air Cadets, tells PEOPLE.

Earlier, Kate joined younger cadets learning teamwork and communication drills. “When she joined in the jumping in and out of the ring she was game for a laugh,” says McCafferty. “I sense she has one of those personalities that people feel very relaxed with.

“Even though they’re quite young and possibly under confident, she got them all talking and smiling. That’s a real talent and makes everyone feel at ease.”

McCafferty says Kate’s involvement with the air cadets has boosted the recognition and profile of the organization. “We call ourselves the world’s best-known secret, but it helped us raise our profile,” she adds.

“Hopefully it will help us get more volunteers. The very fact that she values the development of young people is a very powerful message back to my volunteers that it’s worthwhile and that she cares about it.”

McCafferty noted that when she first met Kate, she’d spoken about going flying. “She said that because William had done so much, she’d like to have the chance to have a flight,” McCafferty says. “Maybe our next engagement with her will be something around flying if we can. She didn’t crash the simulator and hit the target when she was shooting!”

Halfway through the morning, Kate stopped by a weapon handling drill. She watched as they stripped an L98 A2 cadet general-purpose rifle to ready it for cleaning. The older cadets will do 12 hours of training over three days so they know how to handle the weapon safely. She then went around each group and asked them why they’d joined and if they had ambitions to stay in the armed forces as a career.

Says cadet Sophie Reeve, 14: “She was just an amazing person to be around — such an easy person to talk to.”