The Princess of Wales stepped into the Cornish woods to share a heartfelt message about the one thing she believes every young child needs more of.
Kensington Palace released a video on Friday, Oct. 16, in which Catherine said quality time outdoors “has never been more important” in this “tech-driven, digital age.” She made the case deep in the Cornish woods, pressing for small children to be taken away from screens and into the open.
Why She Went Into the Woods
Cornwall had drawn Catherine the day before, on Thursday, Oct. 15, ahead of the launch of new research into how nature shapes babies and young children. She commissioned the work from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and its expert partners, with the Duchy of Cornwall as founding partner.
Loving relationships sit beside time in nature in the study, which looks at how that combination helps the youngest children develop social and emotional skills. “We believe that taking a whole-child approach is important, and nature becomes a wonderful place to explore how we can successfully nurture the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing,” she said in the launch video.
The palace also released a new portrait of the princess in a floral shirt under a Fair Isle sweater, wearing her sapphire engagement ring. Retailers have since identified the woodland look: a £195 Fair Isle alpaca-blend jumper by ME+EM over a pie-crust collar, with a Barbour waxed jacket and earrings by Missoma.
Photographers took the Cornwall pictures on the same day that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped out together publicly for the first time since their move to the U.K. from California. Community organizations in Nottingham, nearly 300 miles from Cornwall, hosted the Sussexes.
Neither Catherine nor William has commented publicly on the Sussexes’ return. William is known to have a strained relationship with his brother.
Only a Third Get Out Daily
Polling commissioned by the Centre for Early Childhood found that 84 percent of parents agreed time in nature helps a child’s well-being and development. A daily dose of nature, however, was reported by only 33 percent of them for their child.
More outdoor time is what another 62 percent want for their child, while 56 percent want more nature-based experiences built into childcare and education.
Christian Guy, executive director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, called the project “a real opportunity” to shape where early years development goes next. “The Princess has long championed the importance of the earliest years and the environments in which children grow, play and learn as a golden opportunity to create a healthier, happier society for future generations,” he said.
Catherine hopes the research will help “build supportive environments” that put nature within easier reach of babies, young children and families around the U.K. She described the project as nature, creativity and relationships helping babies and young children grow up healthy.
Researchers will collect evidence, expertise and practical experience from across the U.K. and the rest of the world, then look at how developmental science can be applied in nature-based settings. Academics, early years practitioners, charities and environmental organizations will all be brought in, the palace said in a statement.
Catherine called nature her “sanctuary” during her cancer diagnosis and treatment in a video released last year. “Connecting to nature helps us to experience a deeper sense of ourselves, the world around us, and each other,” she added.
Years of work on children from pre-birth to five years of age lie behind the Cornwall trip. She convened a steering group on long-lasting change in the earliest years in 2018, launched the “5 Big Questions on the Under Fives” survey carried out by Ipsos MORI in January 2020, and followed it with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in June 2021.
Denmark drew her in February 2022, when she studied the Danish approach to early childhood, and Italy has been another destination for her early years work. The Centre for Early Childhood launched its “Shaping Us” campaign in January 2023.
Catherine and William hosted the “Exploring our Emotional Worlds” forum in October 2023, with 100 young delegates nominated by 10 charities. She has also released a four-part video series on the power of nature, and her nature work includes the Mother Nature series.
Signed Off With a Single Initial
England’s men’s, women’s and wheelchair rugby league teams received good wishes from Catherine on Saturday, Oct. 17, a day after the palace released her woodland photographs. The teams are heading to Australia for the Rugby League World Cup.
The message came from the joint account she shares with William and singled out players, coaches and support staff. She signed it with one initial: “C.”
Those patronages of the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union had previously belonged to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Queen Elizabeth II handed both to Catherine in 2022.
A training day at Twickenham Stadium with England’s rugby union squads marked those appointments, held while she still carried the title Duchess of Cambridge. Mike Tindall, the former England rugby captain married to William’s cousin Zara Tindall, used his podcast, “The Good, The Bad and The Rugby,” to describe messaging England player Ellis Genge afterward, asking whether she had gotten anything wrong.
Tindall’s account has Genge calling her pretty good and really good at kicking. Co-host Alex Payne joked that she looked like “a more natural rugby player” than his two co-hosts combined.
A Tiara Night at Windsor
Days after the Cornwall launch, Catherine returned to formal duties at the state banquet for Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, Oct. 20. She wore a pale yellow, caped Elie Saab gown and the Lover’s Knot tiara, only her second tiara appearance of 2026.
