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Princess of Wales to Visit Italy for First Official Overseas Trip Since Cancer Remission
The Princess of Wales will visit Reggio Emilia, Italy, on May 13-14 for a solo trip focused on early childhood development. The engagement marks her first official foreign tour in nearly three and a half years, following her cancer diagnosis in 2024 and remission announcement in January 2025.
The TimesAudio version
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The Princess of Wales is scheduled to travel to Italy next week for a solo working trip with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, marking her first official overseas visit since announcing her cancer remission at the start of 2025. She will spend two days in the city of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy from May 13-14, learning about the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy that emphasizes children's potential for self-development through nurturing environments and loving relationships.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said the princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy next week and seeing first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children’s development.
The trip represents a milestone in the princess's return to international engagements after her diagnosis with an undisclosed form of cancer early in 2024, for which she underwent chemotherapy. She announced she was in remission 16 months ago in January 2025, gradually resuming royal duties that included joining the royal family in April to mark the 100th anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s birth.
Palace aides described the visit as an important moment in the expansion of the Centre for Early Childhood’s work on a global stage, connecting the Shaping Us Framework with leading international approaches to highlight how early years experiences, through the natural world and human connection, lay foundations for a resilient future.
The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood was founded by the Princess of Wales in 2021 to raise awareness of the importance of early years experiences in shaping society over the long term and to commission research. The announcement of the Italy trip coincided with her visit to the University of East London on Wednesday for the launch of the centre’s new 109-page Foundations for Life guide, a social and emotional development resource aimed at practitioners and volunteers working with babies, young children, and their families.
