LONDON — Britain’s Princess Kate is set to make her first overseas trip since she announced her cancer was in remission, traveling to Italy for a two-day tour starting Wednesday focused on early childhood education that will undoubtedly draw widespread media attention.
The princess will travel to Reggio Emilia in northern Italy to learn about its child-centered approach to early education, which has become a focal point for educators around the world. The trip is part of what her office called an international “fact-finding mission” to explore different approaches to supporting young children and their careers.
The choice of destination for her first trip abroad since her 2024 cancer diagnosis is no coincidence, as early years development is the signature cause for Kate, the mother of three who will one day be queen.
Asked about the personal significance of her trip to Italy, an aide to the princess told NBC News, “She’s looking forward to being here, she’s energized, she’s enthused, she’s excited to see Reggio Emilia in action and meet the people here, too.”
“This is a huge moment for the princess,” the aide said. “There will be many highlights of 2026, but this being her first international visit post her recovery ... this is a really significant moment for her.”
The aide added that Kate “wants to look at other [early childhood] models around the world and really create a global conversation.”
The Reggio Emilia approach is based on the idea that young children have many different ways of thinking, understanding and expressing themselves and that teachers need to work with their students to help them learn.
The visit will highlight the idea that the environment and human relationships that surround children are crucial to laying the foundations for resilient and healthy futures, Kensington Palace said in a statement.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said, “She wants to make a point that she is going to keep making this her cause.”
“The Reggio Emilia approach clearly suits the narrative at the start of international operations,’’ Little said.
The visit is part of her work with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she founded in 2021 to increase public understanding of the importance of supporting children in the first five years of life.
The Princess of Wales, one of Britain’s most popular royals, has proved to be adept at focusing attention on matters she cares about.
When Kate announced that she had completed chemotherapy treatment in a soft-focus, Insta-ready video, she ventured into realms not previously inhabited by the royal family, whose members traditionally shied away from talking about their health.
And she did it in a new way, using social media to share the fact that for all her wealth and privilege, her life had been upended by cancer, like so many others.
Later, when she announced she was in remission, she spent the day supporting other cancer patients at the hospital where she received treatment.
In a statement on social media, she offered her thanks to everyone who helped her and her husband, Prince William, as they navigated the ups and downs of treatment and recovery. She hugged patients at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and described her own treatment as “exceptional.”
“It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery,” the princess, now 44, wrote in a note signed C, the initial of her full first name, Catherine. “As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal.”
Her new normal involves becoming the go-to advocate for early years education, which refers to the learning and development of children from birth to age 5.
There’s lots to do in Britain, where advocates say there aren’t enough spaces to go around and many teachers don’t have the training they need.
Edoardo Masset, associate research director at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said Kate’s focus on early childhood development is important because it brings attention to an issue that really matters to children.
“This relationship between early years education and success later in life is supported not only by strong theoretical arguments, but also by a large body of evidence on the effectiveness of programs for preschool children,” Masset said in a blog post.
