Kate attends symposium for Shaping Us early childhood campaign

Kate Middleton looks fresh-faced after late night at King Charles’ birthday as she wears purple suit to the Design Museum to give keynote speech about her Shaping Us early childhood campaign

  • Kate is hosting The Shaping Us National Symposium at The Design Museum
  • READ MORE: Party fit for a King! It’s a late night for William and Kate as they depart Clarence House close to midnight

The Princess of Wales has arrived at a symposium where the findings of new research from her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood will be presented.

Kate, who launched her early years Shaping Us campaign in January, stunned in an Emilia Wickstead purple suit as she stepped out at the event following a late night with Prince William at King Charles’ 75th birthday party at Clarence House.

The royal mother-of-three, 41, will deliver the keynote speech at the occasion at the Design Museum in London, attended by child and adult specialists and global thinkers.

Said to be Kate’s ‘life’s work’, the Shaping Us project aims to highlight the significance of the formative years of a child’s life. She hopes it will influence attitudes towards children in the early years period of their lives.

Looking effortlessly elegant, Kate paired her power suit – which she previously wore to Northern Ireland in September 2021 – with dazzling sapphire and diamond earrings as well as purple heels.

The Princess of Wales has arrived at a symposium where the findings of new research from her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood will be presented


The royal mother-of-three, 41, will deliver the keynote speech at the event at the Design Museum in London , attended by child and adult specialists and global thinkers

She styled her hair in bouncy waves and opted for a smattering of glamorous makeup to complete her sophisticated look. 

Kensington Palace said the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has conducted a global listening exercise, involving experts from 21 countries to unite the thinking and agree on the key foundational skills laid in early childhood, but continue to grow beyond it, that help establish happy, healthy adult lives. 

These social and emotional skills are described as fundamental to our future mental and physical wellbeing, shaping everything from our ability to form positive relationships to our capacity for learning, working and coping with adversity.

The Shaping Us National Symposium will share the findings from this exercise and focus on the action needed to make social and emotional skills a greater priority.

TV presenter Fearne Cotton, a Shaping Us champion, will present the event and the day will also feature talks from a range of thought leaders to outline the scientific, economic and human cases for prioritising early childhood.

These thought leaders in attendance include Professor Jack Shonkoff, Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard whom Kate previously met during a visit to Boston last year.

Sara Rajeswaran, Chief of Staff at Aviva, a key member of the Business Taskforce for Early Childhood which The Princess launched in March, will also be featured in the event, alongside  Professor Robert Waldinger, Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted.

The findings will be presented and discussed at the event by a panel of experts covering their professional and personal experiences. 

Chaired by Professor Eamon McCrory, the panel will include broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste, clinical psychologist and author Sophie Mort, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, Neil Leitch and Beverley Barnett-Jones, Associate Director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.

During the afternoon, Symposium attendees will join a series of workshops to look at what action can be taken at every level to protect and strengthen these skills for current and future generations across disciplines and across sectors.


Kate, who launched her early years Shaping Us campaign in January, appeared elegant in a purple power suit as she stepped out at the event following a late night with Prince William at King Charles’ 75th birthday party at Clarence House

The Princess of Wales appeared radiant at today’s event as she opted for a smattering of glamorous makeup


Kate’s power suit included slim trousers and a double-breasted blazer with pockets either side

Kate looked relaxed as she arrived ahead of delivering a keynote speech at the event today


Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, Kate opted for a pair of dazzling sapphire and diamond earrings

The Princess of Wales shakes hands on arrival at the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum

Kate styled her hair in bouncy waves and opted for a smattering of glamorous makeup to complete her sophisticated look


Beaming: The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she arrived at the event this morning

The Princess of Wales appeared fresh-faced after her late night at King Charles’ 75th birthday party at Clarence House

Kate shakes hands with those waiting for arrival when stepping out at the Shaping Us National Symposium

Kate chats to those waiting to greet her upon her arrival at the Shaping Us National Symposium


Looking effortlessly elegant, Kate paired her power suit – which she previously wore to Northern Ireland in September 2021 – with purple heels

The event and the research that has been carried out by The Centre for Early Childhood is a key milestone for The Centre’s Shaping Us campaign.

Earlier today, the Princess of Wales made a quite the entrance in a slick promo video for the Shaping Us National Symposium taking place today.

Kate can be seen gliding towards the stage entrance as her €630 Gianvito Rossi heels click dramatically against the floor.

The royal’s silhouette, clad in a chic burgundy power-suit, is stylishly contrasted with the white walls surrounding her as she prepares for her keynote speech.

The short clip, shared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s X account last night, is also interlaced with shots of the preparations taking place ahead of the event.

Kate opted for an effortlessly elegant, business-savvy ensemble worth £1,940.02. The Princess sported one of her favourite looks – a maroon £750 blazer from Roland Mouret teamed with matching £450 wide-leg trousers.

Adding a pop of brightness, the mother-of-three donned a £119 white shirt bodysuit from Holland Cooper clothing.  To accessorise, she opted for £72 pearl earrings from Shyla.  

Kate styled her voluminous brunette tresses in a blowout, keeping her make-up chic and simple with dark eyeliner and pink lipstick. 

‘Tomorrow we are hosting The #ShapingUs National Symposium,’ the video caption from last night read.

The Princess looked effortlessly elegant in a maroon suit as she rehearsed her speech at a National Symposium reception

The royal delightedly chatted with guests at the event as the National Symposium reception kicks off

The Princess was all smiles as she prepared for her keynote speech at the reception yesterday

Kate Middleton , 41, who will be speaking at the event taking place at The Design Museum in London , can be seen dramatically approaching the stage entrance as her €630 (£549.02) Gianvito Rossi heels click against the floor

The Princess sported one of her favourite looks – a maroon £750 blazer from Roland Mouret teamed with matching £450 wide-leg trousers

‘We will bring together cross-disciplinary leaders, child and adult specialists, and global thinkers for the first time to consider how we grow, think, and behave throughout life, in order to build resilience for the future.’

Yesterday evening, Kate was also snapped at a reception for the symposium, where she got the chance to prepare for her keynote speech. 

Snaps from the event show the Princess rehearsing at the podium as she gets ready for the big day. 

She also grinned while chatting with guests, including Justin Welby – the  Archbishop of Canterbury – yesterday.

The multi-media campaign is part of a major push by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, set up by the princess in June 2021, to raise awareness of how our early years mould our lives.

The short clip, shared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s X account, is also interlaced with shots of the preparations taking place ahead of the event


The Princess stood at a podium as she delivered her keynote speech at a reception for the symposium last night

Kate appeared in high spirits as she chatted with guests at the reception last night. The event is taking place at the Design Museum today 

The royal grinned as she chatted with Justin Welby at the Shaping Us National Symposium reception

The pair appeared engrossed in conversation during the evening, where Kate had a chance to rehearse her speech 

It is set to run for at least five years, and has in past been described by a Kensington Palace spokesman as the princess’s ‘life’s work’.

Earlier this year, the princess spoke passionately about the campaign in an open letter published in the Mail on Sunday, in which she set out her plan for Shaping Us.

Reports produced by the Early Childhood centre have revealed that the first five years shape future wellbeing more than any other stage of development, with our brains growing faster than at this time then any other.

It also hopes to ‘break the cycle’ of parents who experienced difficult childhoods themselves. Palace aides say the idea for the project began even before Kate became a mother.

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