LIVE: Princess Kate Arrives in Italy For Her First Overseas Trip Since Cancer — Day 1
Princess of Wales embarks on her two-day visit to Reggio Emilia for a cause close to her heart. As Patron of the Royal Foundation, she will meet families, educators, and business leaders to witness their work in action.
Started 1 hour ago·4 updates
What we know so far
This trip marks Princess Kate's first international solo tour since recovering from cancer.
She is set to receive the First Tricolore, the city’s highest prestigious distinction.
Princess Catherine is making a special return to Italy, where she spent her university gap year.
The choice of destination is no coincidence, as early years development is a cause long dear to the mother of three. The Princess established the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 to change how society values the first five years of a child's life. In 2023, she introduced the Shaping Us campaign, which highlights the crucial role of the first few years in adult development.
"As the Centre for Early Childhood continues to build its work internationally, this visit is an opportunity to connect the Shaping Us Framework with leading global approaches, and to highlight a shared understanding that it is in these early years, through the natural world and the warmth of human connection, that we begin to lay the foundations for a resilient and healthy future," her spokesperson continued.
Crowd in Reggio Emilia eagerly awaits Princess of Wales' arrival
People gather ahead of the arrival of Catherine, Princess of Wales on the first day of her visit to Reggio Emilia. (Photo by Phil Noble - Pool/Getty Images)
For the unversed, she took a similar trip to Denmark in 2022 to learn more about children's outdoor lessons and the work at the LEGO Foundation Playlab at the University College Copenhagen. This is her first royal trip to Italy, having last visited the country in 2000 during her gap year as a student.
Princess of Wales will travel to Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, in northern Italy, to learn about its child-centered approach to early education. She sees the trip as a ‘fact-finding mission,’ and a 'significant next step' for her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. A Kensington Palace spokesperson earlier said, "The Princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy…and seeing first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children's development."
Mahasweta Gogoi
