Kensington Palace has shared three new official portraits of the Princess of Wales from her visit to Cornwall on Thursday. The images show Catherine in a woodland setting, wearing a brown fairisle jumper, a green jacket and dark trousers, with her long chestnut hair loosely curled. Two photographs capture her standing, while a third shows the Princess seated on a bench.
Nature-based initiative for early childhood
The pictures were released to mark the launch of a new initiative examining how nature can support a child’s healthy development and lifelong wellbeing. Catherine has commissioned The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to take forward new work exploring how nature-rich environments can support the social and emotional development of babies and young children across the UK, laying the foundations for a new programme set to launch next year.
The work, supported by founding partner The Duchy of Cornwall, will combine research, practical testing and real-world learning. The aim is to deepen understanding of how nature, creativity and relationships can help children develop the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing.
Princess outlines her vision
The Princess, who has championed the natural environment for its ability to keep us physically, mentally and spiritually healthy, has outlined her vision for the work in a short video message. In it, she says: “New scientific research increasingly shows just how important nature is for our psychological and physiological wellbeing.
“Nature is such an extraordinary environment for us all and, in this tech-driven, digital age, spending quality time outdoors has never been more important.
“This project is about exploring how nature, creativity and relationships can best support the healthy development of babies and young children. We believe that taking a whole-child approach is important, and nature becomes a wonderful place to explore how we can successfully nurture the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing.
“My hope is that through this practical, nature-based research, we can build supportive environments that help make nature more accessible, benefiting babies, young children and their families across the UK.”
Visit to Cornwall
The Princess filmed the video during a visit to Cornwall yesterday, where she went to learn more about the potential of nature-based learning in the earliest years of life. Her husband, the Prince of Wales, accompanied her on the visit, taking a keen interest in the project, especially as he runs the Duchy of Cornwall, which is supporting the new initiative.
