Kate Middleton
The Princess of Wales became a member of the Royal Family in 2011, upon her marriage to Prince William. Since that time, she has taken on Royal duties in support of The Queen, and now The King, through engagements at home and overseas, alongside a portfolio of charitable work and patronages.
Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, The King announced in his address to the Nation and Commonwealth that his eldest son will now be known as The Prince of Wales, and his wife will be The Princess of Wales.
Through her work over the past decade The Princess of Wales has seen first-hand how some of today’s hardest social challenges have their roots in the earliest years of a person’s life. The Princess is committed to raising awareness of the importance of early childhood experiences and of collaborative action in order to improve outcomes across society.
In March 2018, Her Royal Highness convened a steering group to look at what could be done to bring about long-lasting change to the lives of children, by focussing on their earliest stage of life from pre-birth to 5 years of age. The steering group’s recommendations, on behalf of The Princess, have formed the basis of The Royal Foundation’s strategy for developing her work in this area in years to come.
In January 2020, The Princess launched ‘5 Big Questions on the Under Fives’ – a landmark survey which aimed to start a nationwide conversation on early childhood. The findings of the survey were unveiled later that year, alongside in-depth qualitative and ethnographic research conducted by Ipsos MORI.
In June 2021, Her Royal Highness highlighted her dedication to the cause by launching The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which will drive awareness of and action on the extraordinary impact of the early years, in order to transform society for generations to come. In February 2022, Her Royal Highness visited Denmark to learn about the Danish approach to early childhood development and to explore how The Centre for Early Childhood can take learnings from this world-leading work.
As part of Her Royal Highness’s work around early childhood, The Princess of Wales is a committed champion of issues related to children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. Her Royal Highness has worked to bring wider public attention to the fact that issues facing children today such as addiction, poverty, abuse, neglect, loss and illness of family members, can have a long-lasting and traumatic impact if left unsupported. Moreover, academic research has shown conclusively that early childhood trauma will affect mental health long into adulthood, with significant costs to individuals, their families, society and the economy.
The Princess of Wales is Patron of a number of organisations which have close association with her specific charitable interests, and where she feels her support can make a difference. These broadly reflect her desire to help the most vulnerable children, young people and their families, as well as to promote opportunities though sport and the outdoors, and showcasing national institutions which reflect her love of the visual arts.
As their Royal Patron, Her Royal Highness will support their key projects and initiatives, spotlight their work through her programme of official engagements and where appropriate by convening organisations to work in support of each other.
The Princess of Wales, like her husband, also directs her own philanthropic work through The Royal Foundation.
The Foundation develops programmes and charitable projects based on the interests of Their Royal Highnesses by working with organisations which are already making a proven impact in their respective fields. The Royal Foundation mobilises leaders, businesses and people so that together we can address society’s greatest challenges. The organisation’s work is built on world-class research, long-term partnerships, and measurable, scalable impact.