The Duchess of Cambridge appeared in good spirits today as she visited a community parental support project in London – and interacted with children during a cooking workshop.
Looking typically stylish, Kate, 40, donned a smart check grey blazer as she arrived at PACT (Parents and Children Together) in Southwark, to learn more about how communities can support parents and their families with their mental well-being and improve the health and development outcomes for young children.
Keeping her locks wavy and loose, the royal completed her look with a black top and trousers cinched at the waist with a matching belt, while adding a touch of glitz with a pair of drop pearl earrings alongside a dainty sapphire necklace.
Proving she’s all for taking part, mother-of-three Kate joined in with a food prep session with youngsters and their parents during her visit.
Set up by Citizens UK in 2014, PACT is a community-led social support project which aims to build a confident, resilient community of parents who can give their children the best start in life whatever their circumstances.
It was initiated in Southwark after parents, community and faith leaders identified mental health issues and isolation as the biggest challenges impacting on their ability to parent and give their children the best start in life. The project has since expanded to Leeds and Newcastle.
The Duchess met volunteers and attendees of PACT Southwark’s weekly MumSpace group, which provides a welcoming space for local parents to discuss relevant issues and work through any challenges they are facing.
MumSpace is one of many activities run by the organisation to reach parents who might not otherwise have access to support.
Kate also met a health visitor who regularly attends the group to provide advice and signposting to other services, before joining a cooking workshop with parents and children.
By creating local support networks and providing reliable connections for families, PACT helps to combat isolation, support parental mental health and engage a number of hard-to-reach communities to access health and social services.
Helping hand: Kate interacts with a child named Joy during a cooking workshop at PACT (Parents and Children Together) in Southwark, London
Taking part! Looking typically stylish, mother-of-three Kate, 40, donned a smart check grey blazer as she arrived at PACT (Parents and Children Together) in Southwark
All about the accessories: Adding a touch of glitz to her sophisticated check blazer, the Duchess (pictured right, interacting with children during a cooking workshop) sported a pair of drop pearl earrings alongside a dainty sapphire necklace
Looking stylish! Keeping her locks wavy and loose, the royal completed her look with a black top and trousers cinched at the waist with a matching belt
The project works on a parent-led approach which involves listening to parents’ needs and working on solutions together, empowering them to make change within their own communities.
Through her work over the past decade the Duchess has seen first-hand how some of today’s hardest social challenges have their roots in the earliest years of a person’s life.
The Duchess has long been committed to raising awareness of the importance of early childhood experiences and of collaborative action in order to improve outcomes across society.
Meanwhile, yesterday it was revealed Kate will read a children’s book on Cbeebies Bedtime Stories in a programme to be broadcast on Sunday.
Deep in concentration: The Duchess of Cambridge speaks with a representative as she arrives for an official visit to PACT
Plenty to smile about! The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured) looked thrilled to be on the engagement in London
The Duchess of Cambridge arrives for an official visit to PACT (Parents and Children Together)
The mother-of-three, who enjoys reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, by Jill Tomlinson, to children George, eight, Charlotte, six, and Louis, three, dressed down in jeans and a £179 Fair Isle Jumper from Holland Cooper for the TV appearance.
It was filmed in January at Kensington Palace to mark Children’s Mental Health Week, which runs until Sunday.
Kate is following in the footsteps of A-listers like Tom Hardy, Suranne Jones, Dolly Parton and Captain America’s Chris Evans, who have all brought their star power to Bedtime Stories, much to the delight of parents watching with their children.
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark tells the story of Plop, the Baby Barn Owl, who learns to overcome his fear of the dark through encounters with a host of friendly characters.
Prince William backs ‘Queen Camilla’: Duke of Cambridge puts aside ‘huge family rows’ of the past to ‘support’ monarch’s ‘firm desire’ that Duchess of Cornwall is given title when Charles becomes King
The Duke of Cambridge is ‘supportive’ of the Queen’s move to make his stepmother Queen consort.
Prince William was not part of the decision-making process, the Daily Mail understands, but is ‘respectful’ of the logic of his grandmother’s decision. So far, there has been no comment from Prince Harry on the weekend’s developments.
Sources say that while William and Camilla’s was not an easy relationship at first – or indeed for a number of years after her marriage to his father – the second in line to the throne is pragmatic about her role in his father’s life and, now, the future of the monarchy.
‘The duke is supportive,’ a well-placed palace source confirmed to the Daily Mail last night.
Another emphasised that while he was not part of the final decision-making process, the prince, 39, would have discussed the issue with his father and, effectively, given his blessing.
‘None of this can have been easy for him,’ one insider said. ‘There were huge family rows in the early stages of Charles and Camilla’s marriage as everyone found their feet. William didn’t have the best relationship with his father back then. But he sees that Camilla had made his father happy and it is something he has come to terms with.
‘His relationship with the Prince of Wales is better than it ever has been. He is not particularly close to his stepmother but they get on perfectly well and are quite the blended family now. He also respects his grandmother and her judgment more than anything in the world. If it is right for her, then it will be right for him.’
The Duke of Cambridge is ‘supportive’ of the Queen’s move to make his stepmother Queen consort. Prince William was not part of the decision-making process, the Daily Mail understands, but is ‘respectful’ of the logic of his grandmother’s decision. Above: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the Duchess of Cornwall at the premiere of James Bond film No Time to Die in September last year
