The Princess of Wales is set to take her early years advocacy worldwide, reigniting the conversation with renewed vigour following her cancer recovery, according to an aide. Kate will travel internationally to highlight the critical importance of the first few years of a child's life, starting with a two-day trip to Italy to explore a pioneering decades-long project nurturing young children.
Significant Moment After Recovery
The visit to Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, beginning Wednesday, marks what an aide described as a 'really significant moment' for Kate, who is 'taking it up a gear' in her pursuit of a 'global mission'. Christian Guy, executive director of Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, who has travelled to Italy, emphasised that early years development carries the same urgency as other global issues such as climate change.
Kate revealed at the start of last year that she was in remission after undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer. Her last major international visit was in December 2022, when she accompanied the Prince of Wales to Boston, US, for his Earthshot Prize award ceremony.
An aide to the princess stated: 'Undoubtedly, this is a huge moment for the princess. Although there will be many highlights of 2026, I think this being her first official international visit, post her recovery, I think this is a really significant moment for her.'
Focus on the Reggio Emilia Approach
For over a decade, early years has been central to the future Queen’s public work. The visit comes after Kate launched a new resource for those working with young children and their families from her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood last week.
During her visit, Kate will learn about the Reggio Emilia Approach, named after the city that pioneered the globally recognised teaching method. This approach stresses the importance of parents, educators, and the environment—often called 'the third teacher'—that surrounds a child.
The aide added: 'She’s looking forward to being here, she’s energised, she’s enthused, she’s excited to see Reggio Emilia in action and meet the people here too.' They continued: 'She wants to look at other models around the world and really create a global conversation.'
Honours and Engagements
Kate will be welcomed to Reggio Emilia by the city’s mayor, Marco Massari, who will present her with the city’s highest honour in recognition of her early years work during a town hall ceremony. The reception will feature civic leaders, and Kate will be joined by key figures, now in their later years, who played a crucial role in shaping the Reggio Emilia education philosophy.
Christian Guy, executive director of the foundation, said: 'Building on her UK and international work in this area for many years, the princess is here with her Centre for Early Childhood to lead a new global conversation about this, believing we now need to focus on early brain development and nurturing the whole child with the same urgency and sense of mission as other global challenges like climate change—if we truly want to get ahead of these challenges in the future. This is about genuine prevention.'
He added: 'Therefore, we will aim to build a global alliance and shape a blueprint for lifelong human wellbeing and connection around the world, by uniting people around the golden opportunity of early childhood. This will see us working with others across the globe to understand and support the very best approaches to early whole child development—especially the various cultures of care we can learn so much from out there.'
