Celebrity
Kate Middleton Princess of Wales to visit Italy for early years work, first foreign visit since cancer diagnosis
The Princess of Wales embarks on her first foreign visit since diagnosis of cancer two years ago.
Catherine will travel to Italy next week to support her ongoing work in the first five years of a child’s life – a crucial developmental period that has the potential to change the fate of future generations.
Her two-day solo visit to Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy, on May 13 and 14, is an important step in the global expansion of The Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood, which she launched five years ago.
The Princess’s time in Italy will focus on early childhood development and is part of a high-level fact-finding mission to explore leading international approaches to supporting young children and those who care for them.
Kate previously visited Denmark to learn how the Scandinavian country has done pioneering work to give babies a better start in life.
The 44-year-old has used much of her work within the royal family to focus on the period from birth to five years old, experts now agree. crucial for building happy, healthy adults.
There are some simple things parents and caregivers can do to encourage their child’s development in the first 1,001 days of a child’s life.
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These include talking babies and maintaining eye contact and letting them play.
Getting outside into the fresh air is crucial, while there is also an emphasis on teaching young children to understand their feelings, with an emphasis on social and emotional development.
In 2023, Kate launched the Shaping Us campaign aimed at increasing public understanding of the importance of the first five years of a child’s life.
It has been described as her “life’s work”.
Last February, the princess shared her blueprint for improving social and emotional skills through a 106-page Shaping Us Framework.
The report, released through the Royal Foundation’s Center for Early Childhood, identified 30 social and emotional skills that start in early childhood and that experts – and the Princess – say should be prioritized at every stage of life.
One of the parenting tips Kate provided in the report was supporting toddlers who insist on doing things a certain way and talking to newborns in a sing-song baby talk.
The Royal Foundation for Early Childhood was launched by the Princess in 2021 after ten years of work.
Kate’s research shows that social challenges such as addiction, violence, family breakdown, homelessness and mental health often have their roots in the early years.
The Princess’s visit to Reggio Emilia aims to explore how a shared understanding of social and emotional development can align with approaches in other countries that prioritize the early years.
Reggio Emilia’s internationally recognized approach to early childhood education places relationships, environment and community at the center of a child’s development.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said: “The Princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy next week and seeing first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children’s development.”
The Princess of Wales has not made any foreign visits since she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer following abdominal surgery in early 2024.
She was forced to take a break from public life soon after to undergo preventive chemotherapy, but began to perform surgery almost full diary of assignments by 2025.
The visit to Italy next week marks another important milestone in her recovery
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