PRINCESS Kate was seen playing with tots and chatting to parents in a sweet moment on a visit to a children’s mental health charity.
The Princess of Wales is visiting charity Anna Freud to discuss the vital role of relationships and connection in shaping babies, children and young people’s future life outcomes.
It comes as The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood launches a new project with Anna Freud to enhance the skills of health visitors to support early social and emotional development.
Mum-of-three Kate stunned in a grey and black collared dress and heels as she arrived.
She was seen beaming and waving to gathered royal fans and cameras as she was greeted and led inside.
The Princess appeared delighted as she met babies at the charity.
In a sweet moment, one cheeky tot grabbed her hand and sucked on her finger.
This visit comes a week after The Princess’s speech at the Future Workforce Summit.
She spoke of the importance of consistent, nurturing relationships to create the grounded and meaningful environments a child needs to thrive.
Kate attended the summit to encourage business leaders to invest in early childhood which included an onstage discussion with the former England boss.
Sir Southgate was seen warmly greeting the Princess of Wales as they shook hands and shared a few words.
More than 80 business leaders gathered to hear from experts in leadership, human development and early childhood.
During the summit, the Princess of Wales issued a rallying call to business leaders urging them to prioritise “time and tenderness” alongside profit and success.
Kate delivered the opening remarks at a landmark summit organised to encourage big business to invest in early childhood – her first public speech in almost two years.
She spoke of the importance of love, which she described as “the invisible thread” that is woven throughout childhood and “becomes the foundation, the very fabric of resilience and belonging.”
The Princess said: “A loving home ultimately teaches us how to love and how to care, but every environment has the potential to shape our hearts.
“Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.
“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.
“As business leaders you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not, and should not be incompatible.”
The event marked the first time she had given a speech in public since she was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 following major abdominal surgery.
Kate stepped back from public duties for several months as she underwent a course of gruelling chemotherapy treatment.
In January she revealed she was in remission as she made a gradual return to public duties.
The Princess told those gathered at the Salesforce Tower in central London that her passion for the early years stemmed from the fact that the love felt in those first years of life “fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults.”
“Love is the first and most essential bond,” she said.
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