Duchess Kate's Biggest Announcement To Date Is Launching Her Own Center For Early Childhood

Jun 18, 2021

Working royals dedicate a lot of their time to charitable causes, as they help to raise awareness of a number of different topics. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is no exception, as she's spent the last 10 years focusing on various charitable campaigns, particularly those that relate to women and children.

Now, Kate Middleton has announced that she'll be opening up her own early childhood center, which she revealed in a video on the official Cambridge Twitter channel. Undoubtedly, this will be the biggest move in her royal career so far and it's an area of focus that isn't new for the duchess.

Highlighted in a short video that was posted to the Cambridge's official Twitter on June 17, Middleton first learned about the importance of early childhood care starting back in 2011, after she had initially met with adults struggling with addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues. As the video details, this led her on a decade-long journey of discovering the true importance of early childhood care.

The center will be titled The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and it will be a hub within the Cambridge family's charitable endeavors. It aims to increase awareness of and collect new research into the impact of a child's early years.

Coinciding with the launch of the center, the organization released its first inaugural report that's titled "Big Change Starts Small." Another short video teasing the report was released on the royal couple's Twitter on June 15. Let's take a look at the major announcement from the duchess. 

Appearing in a video shared on the Cambridge's Twitter account on June 18, Kate Middleton revealed a bit about her journey and why she wanted to start the center. She begins by saying:

"My own journey into understanding the importance of early childhood actually started with adults and not with children. It was about prevention. I wanted to understand what more we could do to help prevent some of today's toughest social challenges and what more we could do to help with the rising rates of poor mental health."

She goes on to detail that she's spoken to psychiatrists, neuroscientists, academics, and practitioners, and the overwhelming answer is that "the best investment for our future health and happiness is in the first five years of life." The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood will aim to raise awareness of just why the first five years are so important to the best possible future life outcomes, as well as what we can all collectively do to "create a happier, more mentally healthy, more nurturing society." She ends the video message by stating:

"By working together, my hope is that we can change the way we think about early childhood and transform lives for generations to come. Because I truly believe big change starts small."

Yesterday, a short graphic video was released on the Cambridge's Twitter detailing Middleton's journey in more detail — starting with her meeting with adults in 2011 before eventually understanding last year that happier adult lives can come from a happier and healthier early childhood. 

Released alongside the announcement is the center's first inaugural report. Titled "Big Change Starts Small," the report was created in collaboration with Ipsos MORI and brings together research from all over the early childhood sector and covers major areas in which there are opportunities to make an impact. The six major areas in which a difference can be made include "strengthening the early years workforce" and "supporting long-term and inter-generational change."

Furthermore, it reveals the large sum of money — $22.45 billion (£16.13 billion) — that is currently being spent on addressing the problems that exist in British society that could otherwise be avoided through early intervention. In the report, Middleton outlines:

“Our first five years lay important foundations for our future selves. This period is when we first learn to manage our emotions and impulses, to care and to empathize, and thus ultimately to establish healthy relationships with ourselves and others.”

She goes on:

“It is a time when our experience of the world around us, and the way that moulds our development, can have a lifelong impact on our future mental and physical wellbeing. Indeed, what shapes our childhood shapes the adults and the parents we become.”

The chair of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood is Lord William Hague, who also wrote a statement, as reported by Harper's Bazaar, that called the center's launch a "pivotal moment" in Middleton's work on the issue. The Duchess of Cambridge's past charitable work has all led to this point and we look forward to seeing how her work with the center will be going forward. 

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