Catherine, Princess of Wales
The Princess of Wales, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, married Prince William, The Prince of Wales, on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey. They have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Kensington Palace is the family's official residence. In addition to royal duties in support of The King, both in the UK and abroad, Her Royal Highness devotes her time to a variety of charitable causes and organizations, many of which focus on giving children the best possible start in life.
Early Childhood Support
Through her work over the last decade, The Princess of Wales has witnessed firsthand how some of today's most difficult social challenges have their roots in a person's early years. The Princess is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the value of early childhood experiences and collaborative action to improve societal outcomes.
Her Royal Highness convened a steering group in March 2018 to examine what could be done to bring about long-term change in the lives of children by focusing 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 served as the foundation for The Royal Foundation's strategy for expanding her work in this area in the coming years.
The Princess launched '5 Big Questions on the Under Fives' in January 2020, a landmark survey aimed at sparking a national conversation about early childhood. The survey results were released later that year, along with Ipsos MORI's in-depth qualitative and ethnographic research.
Her Royal Highness demonstrated her commitment to the cause in June 2021 by establishing The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which will raise awareness of and take action on the extraordinary impact of the early years in order to transform society for future generations. Her Royal Highness will visit Denmark in February 2022 to learn about the Danish approach to early childhood development and to discuss how The Centre for Early Childhood can benefit from this world-leading work.
“I have seen that experiences such as homelessness, addiction, and poor mental health are often grounded in a difficult childhood. But I have also seen, how positive protective factors in the early years can play a critical role in shaping our futures too.” - The Princess of Wales
Children's Mental Health
The Princess of Wales is a passionate advocate for children's mental health and emotional well-being as part of Her Royal Highness' early childhood work. Her Royal Highness has worked to raise public awareness of the fact that issues affecting children today, such as addiction, poverty, abuse, neglect, loss, and illness of family members, can have long-term and traumatic consequences if not addressed. Furthermore, academic research has conclusively demonstrated that early childhood trauma has a long-term impact on mental health, with significant costs to individuals, their families, society, and the economy.
Her Royal Highness has emphasized the importance of open and honest conversations about mental health in order to combat stigma, as well as the importance of early intervention mental health support for young people in order to address these issues as early as possible so that children have the best possible futures.
Heads Together
The Princess of Wales, along with The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex, championed the Heads Together mental health campaign in 2017. They are part of a coalition of eight mental health charity partners working to change the national conversation about mental health: Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families; Best Beginnings; CALM - The Campaign Against Living Miserably; Contact (a military mental health coalition); Mind; Place2Be; The Mix; and YoungMinds. The campaign aimed to build on existing national progress in combating stigma, raising awareness, and providing critical assistance to people suffering from mental illnesses.
Heads Together was honored to be named the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the Year, providing the campaign with a positive platform for raising funds for charity partners and initiating millions of conversations about mental health.
Since then, The Prince and Princess of Wales have continued to lead and support a variety of mental health initiatives through The Royal Foundation, including the Mentally Healthy Schools and Mental Health at Work initiatives, as well as Shout 85258, a free crisis text line that offers 24/7 support to anyone experiencing a mental health crisis
Sport and the Outdoors
The Princess of Wales believes that spending time outside has a significant impact on children's future health and happiness, laying the groundwork for a lifetime.
The Princess is also an avid sportswoman who believes that physical health not only complements mental health, but also has the power to engage, educate, inspire, and change people's lives for the better. Her Royal Highness's interest in sports, nature, and the outdoors stems from her own childhood experiences and enjoyment of playing tennis, hockey, and sailing.
The Princess designed and built a series of Back to Nature gardens in 2019, which were on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. The gardens were designed to demonstrate how spending time outside can benefit a child's early development by encouraging active exploration and providing opportunities to form and strengthen positive relationships. The project resulted in the establishment of a permanent Back to Nature play garden at RHS Wisley, which Her Royal Highness officially inaugurated in September 2019.
Her Royal Highness has continued this work by expressing her support for organizations that work to ensure that young people have access to nature and physical activity. She is a Royal Patron of SportsAid, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, The Lawn Tennis Association, and The 1851 Trust, among others.
Visual Arts
The Princess of Wales has long been interested in the visual arts, photography, design, and textiles, and she studied History of Art at St. Andrews University. Her Royal Highness is a patron of a number of arts organizations, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Photographic Society.
The Princess is an avid photographer who has shared many of her photographs with the public over the years. In January 2020, she contributed two powerful photographic portraits of Holocaust survivors and their families to a special photography project commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust's end.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Her Royal Highness launched Hold Still, a photography project in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, in May 2020, inviting members of the public to share photographic portraits taken during lockdown, providing a unique record of the nation's shared and individual experiences as the pandemic took hold.
A final selection of 100 portraits were chosen from over 31,000 entries to form a digital exhibition, which was later brought to the streets of the UK as part of a community exhibition. The project culminated in the publication of the Hold Still book, the proceeds of which were split between the National Portrait Gallery and the leading mental health charity Mind to support arts and mental health projects across the UK.
Royal Patronages
The Princess of Wales is a patron of several organizations that are closely related to her specific charitable interests and where she believes her support can make a difference. These broadly reflect her desire to assist the most vulnerable children, youth, and families, as well as to promote opportunities through sport and the outdoors, and to highlight national institutions that reflect her love of the visual arts.
As their Royal Patron, Her Royal Highness will support their key projects and initiatives, highlight their work through her official engagements, and convene organizations to work in collaboration where appropriate.
The Royal Foundation
Like her husband, the Princess of Wales directs her own philanthropic work through The Royal Foundation.
The Foundation creates programs and charitable projects based on Their Royal Highnesses' interests by collaborating with organizations that have a proven impact in their respective fields. The Royal Foundation brings together leaders, businesses, and individuals to address society's most pressing issues. The work of the organization is based on world-class research, long-term partnerships, and measurable, scalable impact.