While royal fans were focused on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's joyous baby news and their tour of Australia, the Duchess of Cambridge was carrying out a secret engagement on the other side of the world in London. According to the Court Circular, Kate hosted a meeting at Kensington Palace on Tuesday morning, most likely after doing the school run. Experts gathered at the palace to discuss Kate's new project, the 'Early Years' initiative.
No other details have been given, although it was previously reported that Kate was working on a solo charity campaign. The mother-of-three, who returned from maternity leave this month, is focusing on child welfare. A Daily Mail report read: "She is bringing together experts from academia, education, health and other fields to work on how to help families tackle anti-social behaviour, addiction and mental health."
The Duchess pictured last week at Princess Eugenie's wedding
Kate's new initiative will be launched in the new year, and will be a lifelong project for the royal, who is passionate about providing children with the best support regardless of wealth or social background. She has even brought together a team of experts to get to the bottom of why vulnerable families are not getting the help they need; the findings will reportedly be published by Kensington Palace next year.
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William and Kate attended a Mental Health Summit earlier this month
In a speech during a visit to the Reach Academy in London earlier this year, she said: "We all know how important childhood is, and how the early years shape us for life. We also know how negative the downstream impact can be, if problems emerging at the youngest age are overlooked, or ignored. It is therefore vital that we nurture children through this critical, early period."
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William and Kate attend mental Health Summit:
She added: "At what stage in a child's development could we, or should we, intervene, to break the inter-generational cycle of disadvantage? The more I have heard, the more I am convinced that the answer has to be early - and the earlier, the better. Addressing the issues only when they root, later in life, results in huge detriment: detriment to the healthcare, education and social support system in our country."
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