The Princess of Wales will undertake her first official overseas royal engagement since her cancer diagnosis when she travels to Italy next week.
Catherine, who announced she was in remission at the beginning of last year, is set to embark on a solo working trip focused on early childhood development.
The visit represents a significant milestone for the future queen, marking her first extended foreign tour in approximately three-and-a-half years.
Her last official overseas engagement took place in December 2022, when she accompanied the Prince of Wales to Boston for the Earthshot Prize ceremony.
The Princess of Wales will undertake her first official overseas royal engagement since her cancer diagnosis when she travels to Italy next week.
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While Catherine made brief trips to Marseille for the Rugby World Cup in autumn 2023 and attended the Crown Prince of Jordan’s wedding in Amman in June 2023, her royal household did not classify these as official foreign tours.
Aides have indicated the Princess of Wales is “very much looking forward” to resuming international travel.
Catherine will spend two days in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia from Wednesday 13th to Thursday 14th May.
The trip forms part of a high-level fact-finding mission examining leading international methods for supporting young children and their carers.
Catherine, who announced she was in remission at the beginning of last year, is set to embark on a solo working trip focused on early childhood development.
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Reggio Emilia is renowned worldwide for its distinctive approach to early years education, which positions relationships, environment and community at the heart of child development.
The method has earned international respect for fostering nurturing, creative and responsive learning settings.
During her time in the city, Catherine will meet with educators, parents, children, civic leaders and business figures to observe the Reggio Emilia Approach firsthand.
The visit aims to underscore how the environments and loving relationships surrounding children play a crucial role in shaping healthy development from the earliest stages of life.
Catherine will spend two days in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia from Wednesday 13th to Thursday 14th May.
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The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, established in 2021 and spearheaded by the Princess, has worked to bring together research, collaboration and practical action to transform how society views and prioritises the early years.
The centre launched its Shaping Us Framework in February 2025, which provides a shared understanding of social and emotional development in young children.
Catherine’s Italian trip will explore how this framework can connect with approaches in other nations that are working to place greater emphasis on early childhood.
The visit to Reggio Emilia represents a powerful starting point for the centre’s international expansion, according to palace officials.
This engagement signals the next phase of the organisation’s work, bringing together global perspectives on early childhood and raising its profile on the world stage.
Royal aides have indicated the Princess of Wales is ‘very much looking forward’ to resuming international travel.
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A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “The Princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy next week and seeing first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children’s development.”
The spokesperson added: “As the Centre for Early Childhood continues to build its work internationally, this visit is an opportunity to connect the Shaping Us Framework with leading global approaches, and to highlight a shared understanding, that it is in these early years, through the natural world and the warmth of human connection, that we begin to lay the foundations for a resilient and healthy future.”
Palace aides described the trip as an important moment in expanding the Centre for Early Childhood’s work on a global stage.
The engagement marks a significant step in elevating the importance of early childhood development internationally.