Celebrity
Kate Middleton Princess of Wales launches new early years project at University of East London as King Charles hosts first garden party of the season
He Princess of Wales works with scientists who are trying to better understand how a child’s brain works.
Described as a “crucial” new phase in her work in the first five years of a child’s lifeCatherine was able to see firsthand how the children themselves helped researchers.
On Wednesday she met experts, parents and young people at the University of East London, a day after Kensington Palace announced plans for the princess to travel to Italy next week – her first foreign visit since being diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
The 44-year-old will spend two days in Reggio Emilia to support her ongoing work into the early years with her Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood, launched in 2021.
The solo visit is seen as one milestone in Catherine’s recovery of cancer and the course of preventive chemotherapy.
During her visit to the university, the princess spent time with children wearing monitors and stress sensors, allowing researchers to record and observe their reactions in different environments and situations, such as during play or when removed from a parent’s view.
For the engagement, the princess wore a Roland Mouret pantsuit and a $1,400 Daniella Draper gold necklace, with three charms with the letters G, C and L for her children’s names. Prince George12, Princess Charlotte11, and Prince Louiseight.
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Catherine has often worn the necklace at events related to children.
Her time at university on Wednesday was to highlight a new report from the Royal Foundation, designed as an online resource for professionals working with babies, young children and their families.
It will be used by universities and training providers across the UK.
Foundations for Life: A Guide to Social and Emotional Developments is designed to emphasize the importance of social and emotional development in the first five years of a child’s life.
In the foreword to the guide, the princess wrote: “In a world that feels increasingly distracted, fragmented and digital… it is more important than ever to invest in what really helps us thrive: human connection.
“By the age of five, our brains have already grown to 90 percent of adult size… making early childhood a crucial window for developing the social and emotional skills that form the foundation for lifelong well-being.”
When the princess was in East London, King Charles hosted the first garden party of the season at Buckingham Palace.
The monarch was accompanied by Queen Camillethe Princess Royalthe Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, before the meeting on the palace lawns.
The garden party coincided with the third anniversary of the coronation, held on May 6 in 2023.
One of the guests was a cocker spaniel who jumped on the king’s legs and licked his hands.
The animal, a hearing dog for the deaf, was later seen digging up the lawn, causing Princess Anne to laugh and say to the owner: “Oh, it’s quite good”.
About 8,000 people were invited to the garden party, most of whom were emergency workers.
The King and Queen have recently returned from their four-day visit to the USwhich was hailed as a milestone in the monarch’s reign
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