The Princess of Wales has paid a visit to a primary school in east London - where an adorable video showed her interacting with youngsters.
The pupils, aged four and five, brought their teddies to meet the princess as she dropped in to meet them at St John’s CE Primary School in Bethnal Green.
The visit came as the princess launched her long-term Shaping Us campaign - aimed at highlighting the importance of a child’s formative years.
She played the schoolchildren a 90-second claymation film which shows how a little girl, named Layla, develops from being in the womb to a five-year-old and how she is shaped by her interactions with the people and environment around her.
The princess then spoke to the children about everything from the special people in their lives and the importance of talking about feelings, to teddy bears, birthday cake, and the tragedy of dropping ice creams.
The Shaping Us campaign has been described as the princess’ “life’s work” and is aimed at highlighting the significance of the formative years of a child’s life.
“The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships, and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives,” she said.
Meet Layla 👋 @earlychildhood
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 31, 2023
Our earliest years shape the rest of our lives. From pregnancy to the age of five, the world around us, the people we meet, and the experiences we have are all #ShapingUs pic.twitter.com/Ta6trdYL94
“It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical well-being as adults and the way we parent our own children.
“These are the most preventative years. By focusing our collective time, energy, and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come.
“All of society has a role to play in this, even if you are not directly involved in a child’s life, because we are all responsible for building a more compassionate world in which our children can grow, learn and live.
“In these difficult times, it is more important than ever to help support parents and caregivers provide loving, safe and secure homes for their babies and young children to thrive.”
The Shaping Us project was launched on Tuesday by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
The claymation film depicting Layla’s story is now being shown in cinemas, and was also aired last week at an evening reception hosted by Bafta and attended by celebrity supporters including former Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes, rapper Professor Green, presenter Fearne Cotton and Lionesses captain Leah Williamson.
After the screening Williamson praised Kate’s project, saying: “I think it’s an amazing, amazing thing to start raising awareness of because we won’t see the fruits of this tomorrow or next year, but in years to come and how we look at our society.
“I hope that we are in a better position because of things like this.”
The princess has been carrying out a number of visits to raise awareness of the launch of her campaign, including meeting with vendors at Kirkgate Market in Leeds on Tuesday when she spoke to people about their experience of early childhood.
