The Princess of Wales offered a moment of tender connection during a heartfelt visit to a children's trauma therapy centre in Bradford, demonstrating to a young girl how to listen to the ocean through a simple seashell.
Emotional Engagement at Family Action's Service
Kate met with children and young people at Family Action's Children's Trauma Therapy Service on Tuesday, marking the first of three carefully chosen engagements across northern England. These visits were specifically designed to highlight what organisers described as "the healing power of creativity, community and nature for individuals who have experienced trauma, isolation and poor mental health."
A Simple Seashell Connection
During her time at the Bradford centre, the princess engaged with a five-year-old girl whose therapist was assisting her in creating a special "box of wishes." It was during this creative activity that Kate shared a comforting gesture, gently holding a shell to the child's ear.
"Sometimes if you put them to your ear, you can sometimes hear the sea, do you want to see if you can hear the sea?" the princess asked the young girl. "Sometimes you can hear the waves. If you listen very quietly. That's what I like doing with shells. If you close your eyes you can sometimes imagine you're by the beach."
The girl responded with a quiet "yes" when Kate asked if she could hear the waves, creating a moment of shared imagination between the royal visitor and the young therapy participant.
Creative Healing and Family Support
The young girl showed the princess a "potion" she had created that she believed would keep "the bad dreams" away, demonstrating the creative therapeutic approaches employed at the centre. Kate responded warmly to the child's mother, saying: "Lots of people need more of these," acknowledging the importance of such supportive environments.
The therapist explained she had selected feathers for the girl's wish box to help calm what she described as the child's "busy head," highlighting the thoughtful, individualised approach taken with each young person at the service.
Family Perspectives on Trauma Recovery
The girl's mother expressed how much her daughter had "loved" meeting the princess, telling reporters: "I don't know how I'm going to get her back after this. She's very busy-minded, she's normally covered in slime."
Describing how the centre had helped her family cope with their trauma, the mother-of-two shared important insights about children's emotional processing: "You always think when something like that happens, don't mention it to (the children) but they're supposed to speak, otherwise they just repress it."
Royal Patronage and Therapeutic Approaches
Kate serves as patron of Family Action, a national charity that supports children aged four to eighteen and their families as they recover from various forms of trauma. The organisation works specifically with families who have experienced adversity, abuse and traumatic bereavement, providing specialised therapeutic support.
During the same visit, the princess also met with a twelve-year-old boy who described using music during his therapy sessions. He explained how he now plays drums in a school band because he particularly enjoys instruments "I can smack," highlighting how physical expression can complement emotional processing.
Kate responded supportively: "Exactly, and that's a fantastic way to express yourself and also manage really difficult and hard feelings that are sometimes harder to express with words."
The Bradford visit formed part of a broader royal initiative to draw attention to mental health support services and therapeutic approaches that help young people process trauma through creative and nature-based activities.
