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Kate Middleton is making her first official overseas trip in three years starting today, and she is visiting a country with an extra personal significance. The Princess of Wales is spending two days in Italy in the northern city of Reggio Emilia. That’s only a two-hour drive from here where Kate spent an important period of her life before she started as a first-year student in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews, where she met Prince William.
“She was remembering the happy memories that she had during her time in Florence on her gap year,” a royal aide said yesterday on the significance of returning to Italy. At age 18, Kate spent part of the year between graduating high school and starting at St. Andrews in Tuscany in 2000, studying art history and learning how to speak Italian at the British Institute of Florence.
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Kate took a gap year before going to the University of St. Andrews, where she obtained a 2:1 degree in the History of Art.
Now 44, Kate is arriving in Italy tomorrow to continue research and work for her charity, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she founded in 2021. Kate has made the early years for children a focus of her work for more than a decade. The Princess of Wales will be meeting with educators, parents, children, and business leaders to observe the city’s internationally recognized style of early childhood education, known as the “Reggio Emilia approach.”
Originating during post-World War II era, the educational method is designed for very young children, from infancy through preschool, encouraging them to express themselves through their interests (i.e. art, music, sports, etc.) without pre-planned assignments. Teachers record children’s progress through photos, video, and written notes to elucidate the learning process for parents. The trip marks a significant step in the work of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood as it expands its reach internationally. “This was something she personally wanted to come and see,” the aide said.
Kate’s last international individual trip was in October 2023 to France to support the England rugby team in her role as patron of the Rugby Football Union.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.