The Princess of Wales just stepped into the Cornish woods to share a heartfelt message about the one thing she believes every young child needs more of.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, visited Cornwall on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, ahead of the launch of new research into how nature shapes babies and young children.
Kensington Palace released the photos and video Friday, Oct. 16. Josh Shinner photographed the princess standing in a Cornwall woodland, in a sweater and jacket, her hair lightly windswept. In the video, she makes the case for getting small children outdoors.
In this “tech-driven, digital age,” Catherine said, quality time outdoors “has never been more important.” The project, she explained, looks at how nature, creativity and relationships can help babies and young children grow up healthy.
The 44-year-old princess has tasked the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and its expert partners with studying how time in nature, together with loving relationships, helps the youngest children develop social and emotional skills. The Duchy of Cornwall is a founding partner. The work will gather evidence, expertise and practical experience from across the U.K. and the rest of the world, and will explore how developmental science can be applied in nature-based settings.
Academics, early years practitioners, charities and environmental organizations will all be brought in, the palace said in a statement.
Only One in Three Kids Gets This Every Day
Parents already believe in the idea. In polling commissioned by the Centre for Early Childhood, 84 percent agreed that time in nature helps their child’s well-being and development.
Only 33 percent said their child spends time in nature every day.
The same polling found 62 percent of parents want their child outdoors more, and 56 percent want more nature-based experiences built into childcare and education. Christian Guy, who leads the Centre for Early Childhood, called the project “a real opportunity” to shape where early years development goes next.
Catherine said she hopes the research will help “build supportive environments” that bring nature within easier reach of babies, young children and their families around the U.K.
A Mission Eight Years in the Making
The Cornwall trip sits on top of years of work on children from pre-birth to 5 years of age. In March 2018, Catherine convened a steering group on long-lasting change in the earliest years. In January 2020, she launched the “5 Big Questions on the Under Fives” survey, with research carried out by Ipsos MORI.
The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood followed in June 2021. In February 2022, she visited Denmark to study the Danish approach to early childhood. The center launched the “Shaping Us” campaign in 2023, and in October 2023 she and Prince William, the Prince of Wales, hosted the “Exploring our Emotional Worlds” forum with 100 young delegates nominated by 10 charities. She has also released a four-part video series on the power of nature.
Meanwhile, 300 Miles Away
The Cornwall portraits were taken the same day Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped out together for their first joint public engagement since relocating to the U.K. from California in August. The couple visited community organizations in Nottingham, nearly 300 miles from Cornwall.
Neither Catherine nor William, who is known to have a strained relationship with his brother, has commented publicly on the Sussexes’ return.
A Rugby Send-Off Signed “C”
A day after the palace released the woodland photos, the princess was back on social media with a different kind of message. On Saturday, Oct. 17, she posted good wishes to England’s men’s, women’s and wheelchair rugby league teams as they headed to Australia for the Rugby League World Cup, using the joint account she shares with William. She singled out the players, coaches and support staff, and signed off with a single initial: “C.”
Queen Elizabeth II made her patron of both the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union in 2022, roles previously held by Harry. She marked the appointments with a training day at Twickenham Stadium with England’s rugby union squads, when she was still known as the Duchess of Cambridge.
Mike Tindall, the ex-England rugby captain married to William’s cousin Zara Tindall, told listeners of his podcast, “The Good, The Bad and The Rugby,” that he later messaged England player Ellis Genge to ask whether she had gotten anything wrong. Genge, by Tindall’s account, said she was pretty good — and really good at kicking.
Co-host Alex Payne joked that she looked like “a more natural rugby player” than his two co-hosts combined.