The Princess of Wales meets educators
Princess Kate Middleton began a new chapter in her royal work story on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, by visiting the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The center is named after the founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach, an education philosophy that focuses on children’s early development, creativity, and learning through experience. The visit came during the Princess of Wales’ first official overseas work trip since 2023, and her first since revealing her cancer diagnosis to the public in 2024.
New interest in the teaching model
During the visit, Princess Kate Middleton met educators and practitioners who explained how the approach is used with young children. According to royal reporter Roya Nikkhah, Kate said she had wanted to visit Italy for quite some time and was excited to be there.
“I’ve been meaning to come for quite some time, so to be here now is very exciting, the Princess of Wales said during her visit,” as per royal reporter Roya Nikkhah.
The Princess of Wales has arrived in Reggio Emilia to big crowds at the start of her two-day visit focused on her early years work. The city in Northern Italy pioneers work in the field and Kate is on a fact-finding mission to take her work in the field to a global audience pic.twitter.com/3DPWBrgxxJ
— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) May 13, 2026
Meanwhile, Marco Spaggiari, an artist educator at the center, said the Princess of Wales greeted people in Italian with “Buongiorno” and asked thoughtful questions about the organization, the materials and the number of international visitors who come to learn from the program.
“I’m meeting a very important person, and she’s shaking my hand. She asked a lot of beautiful questions about the organization and the materials. She was really interested in how many people come to the atelier. A lot of people from across the world come here to learn how to work with children. I was impressed with the humanity of the person and the capacity she has to understand what we are saying. We were talking in a really relaxed way,” Spaggiari revealed.
The Princess connects the trip to her wider mission
Besides learning from educators, the mother of three also took part in a clay modeling activity, making small balls and a coil with the material. Meanwhile, her office at Kensington Palace described the two-day trip as a fact-finding visit and a significant next step for The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she launched in 2021. The center’s “Shaping Us” campaign, which began in 2023, focuses on the importance of the first five years of a child’s life.
Meanwhile, this solo trip to Italy marks her first step in the international spotlight since revealing her cancer diagnosis in 2024. The Princess spent most of that year out of the public sight, focusing on her treatment and recovery. Then, she returned to her royal duties after announcing her remission in early 2025.
“[This visit] is an important step in the Princess’ recovery journey. She takes great joy from this work. I think it is only right that her first international trip since her illness is focused on an issue that is committed to championing for decades to come and is a real issue that she wants to shine a spotlight on,” a royal aide said about her visit to Italy.
