{"id":675359,"date":"2026-05-17T11:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T11:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/675359\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T11:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T11:07:16","slug":"princess-of-wales-steps-out-on-world-stage-and-sends-signals-for-royal-family-in-solo-sojourn-to-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/675359\/","title":{"rendered":"Princess of Wales steps out on world stage \u2014 and sends signals for Royal Family \u2014 in solo sojourn to Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the days leading up to the Princess of Wales\u2019s visit to Italy this past week, much attention focused on the fact that it would be her first official overseas trip in more than three years \u2014 and the first such outing<\/a> since her diagnosis and treatment for cancer.<\/p>\n

But the two-day solo sojourn to a historic city in the northern region of the country also sent signals both for Catherine herself and her role within the Royal Family on the world stage.<\/p>\n

Catherine spent much of Wednesday and Thursday in Reggio Emilia, focusing particularly on its internationally recognized approach to education for young children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that you put children and childhood at the heart of the community, and I\u2019m really fascinated to learn more about it,\u201d she said as she arrived at one of the city\u2019s preschools on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the focus and destination of the trip, there was a sense it was in many ways an attempt to reinforce and advance the interest she has had for several years<\/a> in early childhood development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is very clearly what she is setting out as her long-term main focus,\u201d Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\"AnCatherine, Princess of Wales, centre, visits the Salvador Allende preschool in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on Thursday. (Jordan Pettitt\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

There was a time some decades ago, certainly in the U.K., Rowbotham said, when a child\u2019s early years \u2014 from birth to age five or so \u2014 weren\u2019t seen as mattering that much. Not so anymore, she suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe arguments now are that in fact childhood experiences shape one irretrievably, and that therefore it is extremely important to make that a priority, because if you want a healthy citizenry, that health \u2014 both physical and mental \u2014 is developed from childhood,\u201d said Rowbotham.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the thinking that the princess clearly has in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education \u2014 whether it is early childhood or university \u2014 is \u201cvery much a hot potato politically\u201d right now, Rowbotham said, and as a royal, there\u2019s no way Catherine can get actively involved in the debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat she can do is encourage a broad understanding \u2026 a sharing of information about early childhood development, which is clearly a personal passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sharing of information has been catching the eye of Audrey Symes, a longtime volunteer and advocate for early childhood development in New York City.<\/p>\n

\"AdultsThe Princess of Wales, centre, while visiting the Salvador Allende preschool on Thursday to observe how nature-based learning is embedded within the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, as part of her two-visit to the Italian city. (Antonio Calanni\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Symes said in an interview that she has been interested in Catherine\u2019s work \u201cbecause there really is no other public figure that is consistently championing this cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s important, she said, because it\u2019s a critical, long-term, global issue and one which Catherine is uniquely positioned to pursue, unlike politicians who have voting constituents and term limits. She also, Symes noted, garners an \u201cimmense\u201d amount of media interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a very non-intimidating, warm figure, I think she’s \u2026 the perfect person to do this, because she’s not pedagogical, she’s not a professor,\u201d Symes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she can take what she learns here and figure out how to disseminate it for a consumer audience, I think that would be an incredible \u2026 achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024 and underwent preventative chemotherapy treatment. In January 2025, she said she was in remission<\/a>. Since then, she has been making a gradual and measured return to public duties, but has not ventured out of the U.K. on official royal business until now.<\/p>\n

She had been making more appearances in the U.K., but what is more interesting about the trip to Italy, said Chandrika Kaul, a professor of modern history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is the fact that she was doing it on her own.<\/p>\n

\"AnCatherine, Princess of Wales, right, visits a municipal preschool for three- to six-year-olds on Wednesday in Reggio Emilia, Italy. (Marco Bertorello\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Kaul noted that Catherine\u2019s husband, Prince William, was also on his own at a high-profile event in recent days \u2014 the 100th birthday celebration for nature documentarian David Attenborough.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of these instances coming so soon after each other is probably trying to signal the fact that the Royal Family is looking at them in terms of individuals as opposed to always as a couple and \u2026 giving them that platform,\u201d Kaul said.<\/p>\n

In Catherine\u2019s case, Kaul sees an additional component.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see this very much as giving Catherine her own international profile, but in a measured way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Italian host city and its traditional, genteel surroundings were likely to provide a warm welcome to the visiting royal, Kaul suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe’s unlikely to receive, for example, hecklers demanding what the Royal Family is doing about the former prince Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople gather ahead of the arrival of Catherine, Princess of Wales, on the first day of her visit to Reggio Emilia on Wednesday. (Phil Noble\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

And it was indeed a warm welcome, with crowds cheering as they gathered<\/a> for a glimpse of her.<\/p>\n

The visit seemed to make its mark on her, too.<\/p>\n

“I have had such a deeply moving and unforgettable time here,” she said in a statement, according to a BBC report.<\/a> “Thank you to the people of Reggio Emilia for welcoming me into a culture of care with such warmth and generosity.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Catherine\u2019s visit to Italy comes two weeks after her father-in-law, King Charles, made a high-profile overseas visit to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny trip at the moment involving the Royal Family internationally is bound to be seen in the light of the rather unfortunate international exposure given by other members of the Royal Family,\u201d Kaul said.<\/p>\n

The Royal Family knows Catherine\u2019s popularity would \u201censure wide coverage internationally,\u201d Kaul said, and it might hope that her trip would serve as public and positive international messaging for the House of Windsor itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s almost like another step in terms of her coming into her own as a serious member of the Royal Family who is capable of and is entrusted with carrying the baton of British hopes and expectations on an international level and that she is trusted to fly solo.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘A man on a mission’\"AKing Charles attends the state opening of Parliament in London on Wednesday. (Chris Jackson\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

As far as royal agendas go, King Charles\u2019s has seemed rather jam-packed of late \u2014 and in that there may be signals of how he sees his reign.<\/p>\n

After his visit to the U.S. with Queen Camilla two weeks ago, Charles jetted off on his own to Bermuda<\/a>. One day during that visit \u2014 his first as monarch to a British Overseas Territory \u2014 he carried out eight engagements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SuzanneKing Charles, right, observes as Bermuda Zoological Society staff release a bird during his visit to a living classroom on Trunk Island on May 1 in Hamilton, Bermuda. (Suzanne Plunkett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Back in the U.K., he\u2019s read the King\u2019s Speech<\/a> for the state opening of Parliament, taken a look at cutting-edge cancer research<\/a> at a London hospital and attended a star-studded celebration<\/a> for the 50th anniversary of his youth charity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Thursday, in a show of support for the Jewish community, he met victims of last month\u2019s stabbings<\/a> in the Golders Green neighbourhood of London.<\/p>\n

\"AKing Charles, centre, speaks with members of the public, following a visit to Jewish Care, a health and social care charity, on Thursday in the Golders Green neighbourhood of London. (Leon Neal\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a man on a mission,\u201d Rowbotham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is aware that regardless of his health or anything like that, quite simply his age means that his reign is likely to be short.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AKing Charles looks at a type of robot used in urological and other surgeries during a visit to Guy’s Cancer Centre to mark the 300th anniversary of Guy’s Hospital on Monday in London, England. (Eddie Mulholland\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Rowbotham said Charles is determined that his reign \u201cwill be more than just a footnote.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American visit, coming as it did amid the strain in relations between the U.S. and U.K., has been seen in the U.K.<\/a> as a success for Charles<\/a>, particularly because of the speech he delivered to the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis in a way helped to cement Charles as King in his own right on a very high-profile international stage,\u201d Kaul said.<\/p>\n

Rowbotham said it\u2019s plain that Queen Camilla \u201cis doing her best\u201d to make sure her 77-year-old husband regulates his daily activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he is enthusiastically taking up the opportunity to undertake domestic engagements, to undertake overseas engagements, in a way that gives him the opportunities to demonstrate his personal style of rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another baby for Princess Eugenie\"TwoPrincess Eugenie, left, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, right, shown here in 2023, are expecting their third child this summer. (Kin Cheung\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Another royal baby is on the way, with word the other day that Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are expecting their third child this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis Majesty the King has been informed and is delighted with the news,\u201d said the official announcement from Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n

Eugenie also took to Instagram to share the news<\/a>, saying \u201cBaby Brooksbank due in 2026!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The child, who will be a younger sibling to brothers August, 5, and Ernest, 2, will be 15th in the line of succession, and the fifth grandchild for Eugenie\u2019s parents, former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson.<\/p>\n

Scandal and controversy have swirled around Andrew in connection with his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied wrongdoing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some media<\/a> reports<\/a> noted that the official announcement of the pending birth did not reference the families of Eugenie and Brooksbank, as happened in previous similar announcements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe announcement was made because it would have been something of a constitutional crisis to have broken the habit of announcing the [upcoming] arrival of a new child to somebody \u2026 in the top 20 to 30 in the line of succession,\u201d Rowbotham said, calling it a \u201cvery low key\u201d recognition of the news that came without further personal comment from other royals.<\/p>\n

The fact that the announcement came from the palace is significant, Kaul said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sends out the signals that family matters and the children \u2026 or the grandchildren are not going to pay the price for the sins\u201d of others.<\/p>\n

A royal return to Ottawa\"ThreePrincess Margriet of the Netherlands, left, shares a moment with Korean War veteran Bill Black, centre, as she attends the opening ceremony of the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa on May 9. (Spencer Colby\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

A royal who has made regular visits to Ottawa was back in the city of her birth the other day.<\/p>\n

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, were on hand<\/a> to highlight the friendship between Canada and her home country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They also opened the Canadian Tulip Festival, which marks the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War and Margriet’s 1943 birth in an Ottawa hospital while her family sought refuge here during the Nazi occupation of their country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A federal proclamation declared the maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital extraterritorial, ensuring the new princess would only be a Dutch \u2014 and not also a Canadian \u2014 citizen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Princess Margriet visits Ottawa:\"\"<\/p>\n

Princess Margriet comes to Ottawa<\/p>\n

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is in Ottawa to highlight the strong friendship between her country and Canada. David Fraser reports.<\/p>\n

After the family returned to the Netherlands, Margriet’s mother, Queen Juliana, and the Dutch government sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada as thanks for both the refuge offered to them and the role of Canadians in the country’s liberation in 1945.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Margriet has visited Ottawa several times for the Tulip Festival.<\/p>\n

Royally quotable<\/p>\n

“It is a rare privilege to celebrate a century of life. But it is rarer still when that person has transformed the way we see the only home that we have \u2014 Planet Earth.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Prince William, in a speech to mark nature documentarian David Attenborough\u2019s 100th birthday.<\/p>\n

In a birthday card to Attenborough, King Charles said<\/a>: \u201cOver those decades you have revealed the beauty and wonders of nature to audiences around the world in new and marvellous ways. In so doing, you have shared my determination to highlight the urgent need to protect and preserve this precious planet of ours \u2014 and all life on Earth \u2014 for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles also featured in a birthday tribute to the centenarian, taking part in a film that included a cast of wild animals helping relay the congratulatory card, the Guardian reported.<\/p>\n

Royal reads\"TwoPrime Minister Mark Carney, right, announced on May 5 that Louise Arbour, left, will be Canada’s next governor general. Her installation will be on June 8. (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney has named former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as the next governor general<\/a>, picking a francophone with a long legal resum\u00e9 that includes stints prosecuting war crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia to serve as the King\u2019s representative in Canada. [CBC]<\/p>\n

The Prince of Wales is one of the biggest taxpayers in the United Kingdom<\/a>, a new report has revealed. Prince William pays up to \u00a37 million ($13 million Cdn) in income tax a year, according to the Sunday Times. [The Standard]<\/p>\n

A man has pleaded not guilty<\/a> to using threatening or abusive behaviour toward Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. [ITV]<\/p>\n

The U.K. Charity Commission has opened a case<\/a> into Princess Eugenie’s charity, Anti-Slavery Collective, over concerns relating to its spending. [BBC]<\/p>\n

Once again, Prince Harry has shown he’s no longer prepared to stay silent<\/a>. [ITV]<\/p>\n

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s suggestion that King Charles should return the Koh-i-noor diamond to India has reopened old wounds<\/a>. [The Guardian]<\/p>\n

Queen Camilla bonded with the Princess of Wales\u2019s dog-loving brother<\/a> at a reception honouring life-saving pooches. [Daily Mail]<\/p>\n

The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a new photo of their daughter Charlotte walking in a field of daisies as they marked her 11th birthday<\/a>. [ITV]<\/p>\n

William and Catherine hosted a royal garden party<\/a> on behalf of King Charles at Buckingham Palace. There will be six such gatherings in 2026, with more than 30,000 people typically invited to such events each year. [Daily Mail] <\/p>\n

\"TwoCatherine, Princess of Wales, left, and Prince William, right, attend a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace in London on May 8. (Aaron Chown\/The Associated Press)