It is exactly three years since the Princess of Wales announced her life’s work with her Shaping Us campaign after being determined to help the youngest in society
It has long been described as her life’s work – and when it comes to highlighting just how important early childhood can be, the Princess of Wales is set to mark a special anniversary.
It is exactly three years since Kate launched her five-year Shaping Us campaign, which aims to improve society’s understanding of the importance of early childhood in shaping adulthood and society as a whole. Ever since the campaign began back in 2023 with one of the most important speeches of her royal career, the princess has continued to highlight how children’s earliest experiences before the age of five can directly affect their later lives.
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Kate with families at Home-Start Oxford in October (Image: AP)
The project has attracted support from countless celebrities, from the likes of podcaster Giovanna Fletcher and TV host Roman Kemp to even former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate.
Of course, just a year into the special campaign, Kate was dealt the devastating blow of being diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy treatment, meaning her work had to be put on the backburner.
But with it now a year since she revealed the news she is now in remission – and those at the Centre for Early Childhood working hard to keep the campaign going in her absence – royal expert Jennie Bond tells the Mirror that it seems Kate’s cancer journey has reinforced her determination in helping the youngest in society.
The former BBC royal correspondent said: “It’s three years since the princess launched the Shaping Up campaign. At the time she was in good health with, as far as we know, no inkling of the difficult cancer journey that lay ahead.
Kate plays with a youngster during a trip to the Isle of Mull (Image: Getty Images)
“She was putting down one of the foundation stones for her work as princess and, eventually, Queen. As the mother of three young children Catherine decided to share her experience and thoughts about how society can, and must, protect young minds and souls.
“The shock of being diagnosed with cancer has only served to reinforce her values and her belief in the importance of nurturing our youngsters, encouraging children to explore and live in harmony with nature and of finding joy in the simple things in life. Catherine now holds a deep belief in the power of nature, the need for us all to feel the connection with this world we live in and the fundamental importance of helping children explore that connection.”
Over the past 12 months while Kate has gradually begun to return to royal duties, engagements highlighting the early years have been at the forefront of her schedule. There was a fun visit to Home Start Oxford, where she played with little ones, as well as a poignant engagement at the Anna Freud Centre in London, where she discussed the vital role of relationships and connection in shaping babies, children and young people’s future life outcomes.
In October, in one of her boldest moves when it comes to her campaign, Kate penned a powerful essay warning about the dangers of screen time and how it can impact a child’s development.
Kate on a visit to the Anna Freud Centre in November (Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
Kate set out the biggest insight into her work yet when she aired her concerns about the problems posed by modern technology at the expense of family life in an essay written in collaboration with Professor Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.
Focusing on good connections with family and friends was the key to a healthy and happy life, said the princess, who took the lead in the article, and helping children develop “strong social and emotional skills” would equip them to maintain positive relationships for decades, she added.
And just weeks later she gave her first public speech since returning to duties since her cancer diagnosis when she issued a personal plea to business leaders to prioritise “time and tenderness” not just productivity.
Kate told how “love is the first and most essential bond” in a child’s life as she called on firms to invest in the development of children in the early years in order to create a healthier and happier society.
She spoke of her mission through her work, bringing together experts and business leaders to recognise the importance of family life throughout the country. The princess also directly addressed business leaders she is hoping to convince to join her landmark project.
Kate during a landmark speech to business leaders (Image: PA)
Her taskforce produced a report last year recommending a range of interventions, from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace, and stated the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5billion through investment in early childhood.
Now in a new goal for 2026, Kate is said to have set herself a new goal to promote “the power of creativity” to bring families and communities together.
Mum-of-three Kate is working with royal aides to create a new programme of public engagements, as well as specific projects for the coming year, which will centre on highlighting the importance of connection and quality human relationships.
A royal source said: “The princess was speaking about her own experience, and this is certainly something she will explore further in the future. It is her absolute belief that her recovery was aided by immersing herself in nature, focusing on the joy of being creative as well as being around loved ones. The healing power of creativity is definitely something that has resonated throughout her work and will be explored further in the future.”
Jennie added: “It can all sound a bit airy fairy, but I think it makes absolute sense. All too often there is a pattern when things go wrong. Habits can be handed down through the generations. The abused can all too easily become abusers, addicts can breed addicts. Behaviour — good and bad — can be learned.
Kate with huband William and their three children(Image: @KensingtonRoyal/Josh Shinner)
“So getting it right in early childhood can, as Catherine advocates, be the key to healthy, happy adult lives. I think she’s right when she says these are the preventative years. They are the years and experiences that ‘shape us’ and will shape future society. This is a life-long cause for Catherine, who has become an acknowledged expert in this field. “
Of course, Kate will have had the opportunity to put into practice some of what she has learned during her work with the early years with her own children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and seven-year-old Prince Louis.
Both she and husband Prince William have made it known that none of their children have smartphones at home and that they encourage their young ones to talk about their feelings and fears – especially in the wake of Kate’s health journey.
Growing up herself, Kate was lucky to have loving parents and a tight-knit bond with them and her siblings, Pippa and James, which she appears determined to replicate with her own family unit.
And Jennie believes it is these formative years that have proved the catalyst for Kate to ensure that every child has the support and care she enjoyed while younger – and are helping her to raise the future of the monarchy.
She said: “Catherine knows how fortunate she was to have a solid, loving upbringing. She is giving the same to her children. So she’s trying every avenue she can to make this the norm for society at large.
“I think as her own children grow older, she will (hopefully) look on them with a measure of pride that she has given them the very best of her, and encouraged them to play and explore and understand nature in a way that will have made them confident, compassionate young human beings and and rounded adults.”
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