Early in 2023, there was a particularly memorable moment. Standing in a dark green Alexander McQueen coat inside a Leeds market, Kate Middleton, recently crowned Princess of Wales, is laughing with strangers while promoting a campaign that most people were unaware of. Days before, Shaping Us had debuted at BAFTA with a speech about brain development and a Claymation movie. At the time, it seemed like the kind of modest royal initiative that receives courteous praise but little action. It’s possible that a lot of people believed that.
After three years, it appears more and more incorrect.
The campaign, which is based on the science of early childhood, is based on a specific fact that Kate has brought up time and time again: a child’s brain reaches about 90% of its adult size by the time they are five years old, and during those formative years, more than a million new neural connections are formed every second. She was unaware of this number. It has been cited for years by researchers. However, hearing it presented in speech after speech by someone who truly believes in it begins to change people’s perspectives. That’s the subtle workings of what Shaping Us has been doing.
The criticism was prompt and well-founded. Speaking through Sky News at the campaign’s launch, Dr. Mine Conkbayir stated unequivocally that raising awareness is insufficient. In order to feed the children under their care, childcare providers were turning to food charities. Funding from the government was stagnant. It was difficult to ignore the disconnect between the enthusiasm of the royal family and the reality on the ground. These criticisms have not completely vanished, and they most likely shouldn’t.
However, in May 2026, Kate made her first official solo international engagement in four years and the first since announcing her cancer remission in early 2025 when she traveled alone to Reggio Emilia, Italy, for a two-day working visit. It felt different from regular royal tours to watch how she navigated that journey. She held a three-month-old baby, spoke with teachers and parents, visited preschools and outdoor learning areas, and greeted crowds in Italian. It was devoid of ceremonial formality. By all accounts, she was genuinely studying something.
She learned about the Reggio Emilia Approach, a well-known early education philosophy that was created in northern Italy following World War II and is child-led and community-centered. The majority of governments covertly disregard this type of model, which is cited by academic researchers. Kate’s serious engagement with it, rather than just taking pictures of it, indicates that her team is working toward something more tangible than a campaign to raise awareness. She was “extremely inspired” afterward, according to Kensington Palace, and she reportedly asked her staff to start organizing more international travel almost immediately, mentioning India as a potential destination before the year was out.
Observing this stage of her career, it seems as though the trip to Italy was a shift in perspective. It’s not very dramatic. Not a declaration of policy. However, there is a difference between a royal who visits causes and one who is actually constructing something. It’s still unclear if Shaping Us will result in the long-term investment, funding reform, and actual policy changes that its detractors rightly call for. The gap between legislation and inspiration is still quite large.
The momentum is now more difficult to ignore. After overcoming a cancer diagnosis, Kate Middleton has returned to public life with a clear purpose and begun expanding her iconic campaign outside of the United Kingdom. The real question worth keeping an eye on is whether that translates into significant international policy or stays a high-profile discussion.
