Kate points to 10-year commitment to charity with throwback fashion

With a beaming smile and waves to well-wishers, the Princess of Wales looked the picture of elegance as she strolled into the Anna Freud centre on Thursday.

But beyond her usual poise and grace, the future queen made a very clever nod to her first visit to the children's mental health charity, which was almost a decade a go.  

Kate's tailored check dress bore a strong resemblance to the Ralph Lauren shirt-dress she wore to the centre in September 2015.

The 43-year-old future queen, who is patron of the charity, returned to one of her favourite designers for the outing, selecting a knee-length number by Emilia Wickstead, which she previously wore to Harvard University during a trip to the US in 2022. 

While the colour of the dresses differed, with this week's in shades of blue rather than black and white, they shared a number of common features, from a sharp collar and cinched waist to long sleeves and a knee-length skirt. 

By evoking her very first visit to the charity during Thursday's outing, Kate subtly highlighted the length of her involvement with the organisation, reaffirming her commitment to children's causes. 

The Princess's choice of US label Ralph Lauren in 2015 and New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead this week equally reflected her longstanding preference for elegant, classic styling. 

Her complexion now was no less radiant than it was 10 years ago, with the most obvious difference in her appearance being her noticeably blonder hair. 

Kate's Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has launched an initiative with Anna Freud to create a training curriculum for health visitors.

The scheme aims to help their work supporting the early social and emotional development of children.

Since 2016 she has been patron of the organisation which carries out evidence-based research and training on children, young people and families' mental health.

Kate began her visit to the institution's offices by meeting families who are working with Anna Freud and the Institute of Health Visitors to shape the new scheme.

Kate met with the organisation's chief executive Professor Eamon McCrory at the Anna Freud Centre near King's Cross to discuss its work with mental health.

She told a gathering of senior executives in the City of London that 'profitability' and making a 'positive impact' are not 'incompatible', at the summit hosted by her Royal Foundation to drive action and investment in the early years development of children.

Delivering the summit's opening speech, Kate told guests her passion for promoting early years, described in the past as her 'life's work', stemmed from the 'essential truth' that 'the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults'.

She went on to say: 'A loving home ultimately teaches us how to love and how to care, but every environment has the potential to shape our hearts.

'Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.'

Earlier this week, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood announced a major research project into how using digital devices impacts young children.

The £100,000 study aims to help families connect in the modern digital world - and it comes just weeks after Kate penned a heartfelt essay on the topic.

The research will examine how to reduce parent-child disruption caused by digital devices, otherwise known as 'technoference'.  

Last month, Kate wrote an essay discussing the importance of connection in yesterday's digital landscape, which was published by the centre she set up in 2021. 

The Princess of Wales' poignant article, titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, spoke of raising children in an increasingly digital and disconnected world.

Kate shares three children with Prince William: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

The royal wrote: 'For babies and young children, the pull of screens will be even stronger than for older children and adults, the habits more deeply ingrained as they grow. 

'Yet this is precisely the period when children should start developing the social and emotional skills that will serve them throughout life,' the mother-of-three added.

The Princess said the nation was currently 'raising a generation that may be more “connected” than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life.'

She urged parents to strive to be 'fully present with the people we care about', saying 'It means protecting sacred spaces for genuine connection: family dinners, conversations, moments of genuine eye contact and engaged listening.'

The new study will look at how to help parents build stronger connections in the early years of raising their kids, as well as finding a healthy balance with technology.