Princess Catherine Makes Her First Solo Trip Abroad Since Cancer — and Italy's Welcome Said Everything

May 15, 2026 by apost team

On May 13, 2026, Catherine, Princess of Wales, stepped off a plane in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy — and thousands of people were waiting. Signs reading "Ciao Kate" lined the piazza. Children held flowers. The mayor of Reggio Emilia, Marco Massari, was there to greet her personally. For a two-day visit built around early childhood education, the reception felt more like a state occasion.

It was also, quietly, a milestone. The trip marked Catherine's first solo international engagement since she was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 and underwent chemotherapy. On Jan. 14, 2025, she released a statement confirming her cancer was in remission. Since then, she has returned steadily to public life — but traveling abroad alone represented a different kind of step. The last time she had done so was in 2022, when she visited Denmark, also in support of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, the organization she co-founded with Prince William in 2021.

Catherine, born Jan. 9, 1982, arrived wearing a tailored turquoise pantsuit over a white blouse — specifically, a cornflower-blue suit by Edeline Lee that drew comparisons to Princess Diana, who frequently wore pale-blue suits on visits to children's hospitals and charities. She carried a powder-blue Asprey bag and styled her hair in soft waves. Onlookers described her as "glamorous" and "beautiful." 

The purpose of the visit was serious, substantive, and entirely in line with the work she has built her royal identity around. And the name she used when she got there was not the one most people expected.

The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education is world-renowned. Developed in the Italian city after World War II, it emphasizes child-led learning, creativity, community involvement, and the role of the environment as a third teacher. Catherine had long admired it, and the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood had been working to understand and expand on its principles internationally.

On her first day, Catherine visited the Piazza Camillo Prampolini, toured Reggio Emilia's Town Hall, and met with three of the women who helped shape the Reggio Emilia approach: Carla Nironi, Iona Bartoli, and Eletta Bertani. She was presented with the Primo Tricolore — the city's highest honor — by Mayor Massari in recognition of her early years work. On her second day, May 14, she visited Remida, Reggio Emilia's creative resource center, and a nature-based preschool called "Salvador Allende" Scuola dell'infanzia, where she played outdoors with children. 

It was during those first moments in the piazza that the moment everyone talked about happened. Speaking to a group of local children in Italian, she said:

"I speak a bit of Italian. What is your name? I am Catarina."

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Catarina is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish variant of Catherine — a name she has traditionally used in her royal work, replacing "Kate," which is more commonly used in informal settings. Teacher Roberta Marzi, who was present, described the moment as "emotional," adding: "She asked them some simple questions, but her Italian was perfect. She spoke clearly." 

A royal aide described the trip as "a huge moment" for the Princess. 

Undoubtedly this is a huge moment for the Princess. There will be many highlights of 2026, but this being her first official international visit post her recovery, this is a really significant moment for her," the aide said. 

What the visit made clear, to the thousands who lined the streets of Reggio Emilia and the millions who followed it online, was simpler: she is back, she is working, and Italy was glad to have her.

Are you a fan of Princess Catherine? Do you think her return to solo royal duties is an inspiring sign of her recovery? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and other royal fans out there!