Kate Middleton's Experiences as a Mother Have Profoundly Shaped Her Focus for 2019
The Duchess of Cambridge brought the world's attention to the cozy London offices of a charity yesterday-and earned praise for her "deep interest" in the welfare of families.
Her visit, which helped launch the organization's new helpline, came as anticipation for the Duchess's first major solo charity project continues to mount. The soon-to-be announced endeavor, which has been in the works for months, will be a way for mother-of-three Kate to further use her position to impact the lives of children and parents.
As is typical of Kate's royal engagements, both the media and the public gathered outside the charity Family Action Tuesday morning to catch a glimpse of the future queen’s arrival. With a cheery wave and handshake, she looked every inch the regal duchess in a dark green dress. Notably, the garment was by label Beulah, which helps create jobs for vulnerable women.
However, once she was inside the building, it was 37-year-old Kate’s role as a mother that came into focus. Kate’s visits command the attention of the world, but her manner is much more reserved than it is gregarious, and those who meet her are often surprised by how low-key an encounter feels. Such was the case with some people she met at Family Action.
"Once she came in she was just like another friend," said Dawn Daley, 46, from Islington, who helps her niece Deidre Greenaway, 30, raise her two children, a boy and a girl. Greenaway receives help from Family Action as both of her children have been diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type one. The disease can cause the development of non-cancerous tumors and behavioral difficulties.
“She was saying that we were brave to be able to speak about the stories," Daley said of Kate. "She was very compassionate ... Her being involved will do so much."
For Daley, Kate's approachable style meant she could pull off the rarest of royal feats-relating her struggles as a parent to those of people outside her royal circle. Or rather, as Daley put it, “She’s a mum, it wasn’t easy for her as well.”
In a sign of just how important public visits are for the monarchy’s popularity, Dawn concluded: “I have a bigger respect for her now that I’ve met her in person and realized that she is really for families. She’s not doing it just to do it, she’s really into the family.”
As she begins her working year-her eighth as a member of the royal family-Kate’s individual charitable focuses are well-defined, and have been clearly represented in the handful of 2019 visits she has made so far.
Charities benefiting early years and family life are central, with the forthcoming initiative as a large part of that. Her interest in the outdoors is also at the forefront as she co-designs a "back to nature" garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, which she previewed with a visit to a neighborhood garden in Islington last week. Her recent visit to the Royal Opera House to see the costume department was used to outline a separate interest in textile manufacturing, which she is set to explore in the coming months.
"Family life is a great common denominator for all of us, and so having somebody talking about that and promoting that feels very special and important," David Holmes, chief executive of Family Action, told T&C following the Duchess’s visit.
“I think she has a really deep interest in the early years and in parenting and families. That comes across very clearly," Holmes continued. "Just being a parent changes your life so much. It’s great that she is using her own experience and is interested in an area which I think is just such a shared experience for so many.”
Holmes is on the steering group for Kate’s initiative. They meet regularly and are gearing up to announce the new project, which could be the Duchess’s most defining charitable endeavor so far. “I run a charity that has a very direct experience of providing services on the ground to children and families," says Holmes. "It’s really important I think for her to have the opportunity to not only find more about the work of the charity but meet people who are receiving the services."
The Family Action helpline has been open for around a year through a pilot, and so far about 1,000 people have been in contact-but that could now increase after the high-profile royal visit.
Ayse Hassan, who introduced the Duchess to the helpline, told T&C, “For us, we want to promote the helpline as much as possible because we want to reach out to people who will benefit. So for her to be here today is absolutely brilliant. I hope that’s going to get a lot of publicity and we’re there waiting for the calls, waiting to help people.”
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