The Princess of Wales is passionate about early years education, and even founded her own research centre on the topic, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Now, in a new video - a rare, direct-to-camera address from Kate herself - the Princess has announced an exciting project in early years research which connects to another 'extraordinary' area she's particularly invested in; nature.
In a video shared to her official Instagram account on Friday (16 October), the Princess of Wales said that 'in this tech driven digital age, spending quality time outdoors has never been more important.' She said this was particularly the case given 'new scientific research' which 'shows just how important nature is for our physical and psychological wellbeing.' In light of this, the Princess announced a new project from the Centre for Early Childhood, which she spearheads.
In the clip, Kate described nature as 'an extraordinary environment' and said her new project would explore how 'creativity and relationships can best support the healthy development of babies and young children' through nature. She added that the outdoors is 'a wonderful place to explore how we can successfully nurture their social and emotional skills - the skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing.'
Speaking to camera, Kate shared her hopes for the research, revealing that the aim was to 'build supportive environments that help make nature more accessible, benefitting babies and young children and their families across the UK.'
Fittingly, the video was filmed in the great outdoors, with the Princess of Wales wearing an autumnal outfit which leaned into earthy green and brown tones. Her Fairisle knit is the lynchpin of the look - an Alpaca wool blend jumper by ME+EM. The good news is that the jumper is available to buy online and still in stock - however many sizes are beginning to sell out already so you'll have to move fast:
If you're looking for an alternative, Cotton Traders' have a roll neck version which is currently reduce on sale (at time of writing), with wider size availability:
Now 36% Off
Kate accompanied her new video with a caption offering more context to the announcement, which revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall (the royal land estate currently headed by Prince William), would be supporting the project. 'The work will explore how nature, creativity and relationships can help nurture the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing,' Kate wrote.