The Princess of Wales proved a good listener today when she visited the Anna Freud Center where she chatted to young people about their fears.
Kate, 41, beamed as she arrived at Anna Freud’s London base this morning, where she took part in a series of roundtable discussions about the mental health challenges facing young people today.
The Princess of Wales said she felt emotions should not be “overly medicated”, particularly among young people who tend to “clinge on labels of any kind”.
She told officials, “In the caveman era, our worlds were pretty small, so we could handle that fight-or-flight response…”
In comparison, she suggested that modern society and the impact of social media had a notable impact on mental health and well-being.
Instead, she said children should be encouraged to learn mental health skills that would help them not only in school but in all aspects of their lives.
Wearing a £3,000 green Suzannah tea dress, paired with two-tone Alessandra Rich heels and a pair of Accessorize earrings worth around £8, the princess spent time at the center with a group of secondary school children who took part in interactive activities , which dealt with how to deal with their own feelings of anxiety. Fear is the topic of the week.
The Princess of Wales wore a £3,000 Suzannah London emerald green midi dress for the occasion, which she paired with a pair of Accessorize earrings and her white Alessandra Rich heels
Kate Middleton, 41, beamed as she greeted royal fans at Anna Freud’s London base this morning
Kate was thrilled to take part in a panel discussion on adolescent mental health today
The children attend Years 7-9 at St Richard’s College in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, which is part of the charity’s Mentally Healthy Schools initiative.
They helped design Anna Freud’s ‘Anxiety Toolkit’ which was launched today/yesterday and will be used in schools across the UK.
The princess sat down with a group at a table and asked them how they dealt with certain situations. She used handy activity cards to formulate her answers.
When a girl was told that she was taking exams at a football club, she said: “Sport is about both mental and physical abilities and skills.”
“Having skills like that in your toolbox is going to be really helpful, not just in school, but in your personal life, in school and in other things.”
She asked the children, “Do you think a lot of young people have the skills that you have?”
“How many adults do you know who have these skills?”
While chatting about her work in the mental health field, she added, “The more you learn, the more you read, the more interesting perspectives you get…it’s great to keep up.”
She continued, “I learned a lot.” And then it goes into the areas of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience.”
The princess noted that there is “so much synergy” between the conversations on all aspects of mental health and that no single element can be looked at in isolation.
She then took part in a panel discussion with industry experts on how to better support the mental health of future generations.
The Princess of Wales looked perfect for spring in an elegant green dress from retro-inspired brand Suzannah
Show her maternal side! Kate bent down to chat with a group of youngsters during her visit today
The Princess engaged in a number of conversations during her visit to the charity today
The royal mother-of-three greeted royal fans and young people waiting outside the charity in London
The Princess met with well-wishers after a visit to the Anna Freud Centre, a research, training and treatment center for children’s mental health in London
The princess sat next to Prof Peter Fonagy, managing director of Anna Freud and a member of the Royal Foundation’s Early Childhood Advisory Group.
Also at the table was barber Tom Chapman, who runs the Lion’s Barber Collective, which trains barbers to talk to clients about mental health wellbeing.
“It comes down to knowing how to talk about it.” “The regulation of emotions and feelings… and normalizing them,” she said.
Prof. Fonagy subsequently revealed that the princess took a copy of the fear tool kit with her.
“She took a copy because like any other parent, she’s in the same position and needs to have the skills and competencies to deal with an anxious kid, a kid about to take an exam…” he said.
“Do we know how to do it? We don’t teach it in school. “We should teach it in school, but we don’t.”
“Anxiety and sadness are not a disease.” They are part of life and we all need help managing fear and managing sadness.
“If you treat it medically and we just hire psychologists and psychiatrists to deal with these everyday problems, you’re doing a disservice.”
“What we need is a much broader general approach, a societal shift towards the challenges of emotions.”
After the hour-long visit, the princess said she felt “inspired and excited”.
She added, “I learned a lot today. ‘All these firecrackers are going off in my head.’
The king offered a handshake to royal fans waiting in the crowd after the engagement today
Following the engagement, Kate chatted to a number of royal fans who were eagerly awaiting her outside of the charity
For the outing, the princess chose one of her favorite designers, Suzannah
Visiting Anna Freud today, Kate spoke to teenagers about anxiety based on Let’s Talk About Anxiety, a new animation and teacher toolkit co-developed by the students themselves
For the engagement, Kate styled her hair in her favorite bouncy blow-dry style and opted for a neutral makeup look.
For the occasion, she added a touch of blush to her cheeks and eyeliner to her lids.
Meanwhile, she kept her jewelry to a minimum, opting for a simple pair of gold earrings.
Her decision to wear the Suzannah Flippy Wiggle dress in an emerald shade comes days after wearing the same dress in white.
An online description of the dress details how it’s made from “pure Italian silk crepe.”
It continues: “Original inspiration comes from a late 1940’s wiggle dress that we have re-tailored so that it slides down the bodice, down the entire skirt, from waist to toe, in one fluid, gentle motion Hem.”
“The silhouette is contoured around the waist and front yoke with delicate pintucks.
“The dress is designed in an elegant tea length and features beautiful half length sleeves with buttoned cuffs.”
It is also described as the “perfect forever dress inside and out – step inside and feel the sublime!”
At Wimbledon 2019, Kate looked gorgeous in her white buttoned crepe Flippy Wiggle dress.
And in 2014, she wore a green and white Suzannah tea dress for Prince George’s first birthday portraits.
The Princess of Wales said she believes emotions should not be “overly medicated”, particularly among young people who tend to “clinge on labels of any kind”.
During the conversation, Kate pointed out that modern society and the impact of social media has had a notable impact on mental health and well-being
After the hour-long visit, which included a discussion with a group of youngsters, the princess said she felt “inspired and excited”.
The royal mother-of-three, who has made early childhood development one of her main pillars of her royal work, was thrilled during her visit to the charity
At Anna Freud, neuroscientists and practitioners in the fields of mental health, social care and education work with children and adolescents to transform the mental health of children, adolescents and their families
The princess looked effortlessly elegant as she visited a charity that works for the mental well-being of children in London
The royal mother-of-three wore a £3,000 Suzannah London emerald green midi dress for the occasion, which she paired with her white Alessandra Rich heels
Kate met a group of high school students who took part in interactive activities exploring how they cope with anxiety
Kate, who has been the organization’s patron since 2016, beamed as she waved to the waiting fans
The princess beamed as she arrived at Anna Freud’s London base this morning, where she took part in roundtables on the mental health issues facing young people today
For the engagement, Kate styled her hair in her favorite bouncy blow-dry style and opted for a neutral makeup look
For the occasion, the princess added a touch of blush to her cheeks and a touch of eyeliner to her lids
Her decision to wear the Suzannah Flippy Wiggle dress in an emerald shade comes days after wearing the same dress in white
Kate arrived this morning to meet with the center’s staff
The Princess of Wales is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week this week with visits to two charities. Anna Freud is a charity that uses scientific research to give young people the support they need, when they need it
The princess has long advocated putting the mental well-being, including that of children and young people, first.
She has dedicated her time supporting various mental health programs such as launching Heads Together, Shout 85258 and the Mentally Healthy Schools program.
She is also a patron of a number of charities focused on promoting and supporting the mental health of those in need.
In January 2023, the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood launched Shaping Us, a long-term campaign led by the Princess.
The aim of the campaign is to move the topic of early childhood from a scientific interest to one of the most strategically important issues of our time.
The campaign also underscores that by focusing our collective time, energy and resources on creating a supportive, nurturing world for all children and those who care for them, we can make a huge difference to the physical and mental health and happiness of future generations , build up.