The Princess of Wales visited a hospital to see how the Alarm Distress Baby Scale, which she first observed in practice during a 2022 visit to Denmark, was helping babies in the U.K.

NEED TO KNOW

• Kate Middleton visited The Chase Community Hospital in England to see how her work with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood is helping babies
• The Princess of Wales met health visitors using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), an observational tool that helps identify early social and relational withdrawal in infants
• Princess Kate tasked the Centre with exploring how it could be implemented in the U.K. after first observing it in practice during her 2022 work visit to Denmark

Kate Middleton made a solo outing to see the latest step in her royal work to help children and babies get the best start to life.

The Princess of Wales, 44, visited The Chase Community Hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 11, to see how a pilot program was being expanded to help identify more babies and their families who need further support.

She met with health professionals using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), an evidence-based observational tool that helps healthcare and childcare professionals identify early social and relational withdrawal in infants during the first two years of life. The training helps practitioners focus on babies’ eye contact, facial expressions, vocalization and activity levels during routine checks to interpret babies’ social behavior and identify signs of social withdrawal that may warrant further support.

The Princess then took part in discussions with healthcare professionals and NHS representatives interested in implementing the approach within their own services.

Princess Kate first observed ADBB in practice during her 2022 work trip to Denmark. She then tasked The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, the hub she launched in 2021 to highlight the importance of children’s early years on the rest of their lives and wider society, with exploring how it could be implemented in the U.K.

Since then, the Centre has been working with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) to bring the benefits of the approach to families in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Following two successful pilot phases across 10 NHS sites, the Centre announced this summer a further investment of $340,000 over three years to support wider adoption of the approach.

Kate’s visit to the hospital on Wednesday came shortly after she opened up about her cancer journey and how nature played a role in her recovery.

“It is definitely connected, it is about listening and paying attention. What I feel really passionate about, having had first-hand experience, is approaching illness and recovery through a whole-person approach. Yes, serious illness creates a lot of physical challenges, but there is also a deeper part to all of us,” the Princess said in the latest issue of Country Life magazine, which was guest-edited by her husband Prince William.

“Nature has allowed me to find a deeper connection to my mind, body and spirit. I think that’s because nature offers something unique. It doesn’t ask anything of us. It doesn’t judge us or expect us to perform. It simply allows us to be. It really has been my sanctuary and a place I’ve instinctively wanted to go.”

“I was told in hospital that my recovery would not be linear,” Kate continued. “There will be good days and bad days, that it will take time. This is the same in nature. It shows us that periods of rest, reflection and renewal are equally as important as moments of growth.”

Princess Kate’s trip to Denmark was one of the occasions when she has taken her mission to help children abroad, learning different approaches from the wider network of experts and professionals working with the early years. This past May, she and her foundation executives headed to Reggio Emilia in Italy to see groundbreaking work with young people being done there.

In June, the Princess of Wales opened up in a rare first-person essay shared by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, in which she reflected on her trip to Italy to further her early childhood work on the world’s stage, which also marked Kate’s first overseas work trip since announcing her cancer diagnosis in 2024.

In the essay, she called for urgency in prioritizing early childhood on the global agenda and shares the advice she gave a fellow parent at Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ school about the “one thing” everyone can do to make a difference. 

“Last week, a parent at my children’s school asked me if we could all do just one thing, what would it be?” Kate wrote in the essay, which can be read in full below. “My answer is simple: to prioritize love.”

“I’m not talking about overly sentimental and romantic gestures, but love that is quiet and unconditional, built on time and patience: the joy found in ordinary things; the everyday magic of life itself,” she continued. “This is how we stay well, remain connected to our inner selves and create the lasting relationships that nourish us throughout life.”

She concluded, “If we can surround children with nurturing, loving environments, we can help them build the human capabilities they need to thrive in the world today.”

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Princess Kate recently spent some time out of the public eye amid an extended school break for Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8.

Before the half-term break, the royal mom of three expressed her excitement to have all three of her kids back home.

“My children break up tomorrow, and I can’t wait to have them all home,” she told well-wishers who gathered to meet her outside a royal outing, Hello! magazine reported.

One woman who met the Princess of Wales there shared that the royal “said she’s looking forward to George coming home — she’s missed him. They may be going somewhere [during the break],” according to the outlet.

Princess Kate returned to public events over the weekend for two poignant Remembrance Day outings that are a staple of the royal calendar: the Festival of Remembrance and Remembrance Sunday.

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