The Princess of Wales greeted well-wishers in Italian saying ‘I am Catarina’ as she was given a rapturous welcome on her first foreign royal visit in three years.
Catherine was met by a crowd of 1,000 people – including a very excited-looking baby – as she arrived for a two-day trip to Reggio Emilia. She hugged schoolchildren, posed for selfies and accepted bouquets of flowers.
Looking relaxed and radiant in a blue Edeline Lee trouser suit, the princess – who spent her gap year in Italy – told the youngsters in their native language: ‘I speak a bit of Italian. What is your name? I am Catarina.’
Royal fans lined the Piazza Camillo Prampolini in the city and Catherine stopped to greet pre-school children in the cobbled square. Some were hanging out of windows surrounding the area.
It is the first overseas official visit for the princess since she went to Denmark in 2022, before her cancer treatment.
Catherine is in Reggio Emilia – a city in northern Italy famed for its pioneering approach to early years education – to boost her crusade to improve young lives.
And this is just the start of what is expected to be a worldwide mission as part of her work with young children.
Her first engagement was in the city’s town hall where she met the mayor. Outside, she spent 15 minutes meeting fans who had travelled to see her.
The Princess of Wales meets a smiling baby in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia this afternoon
The princess wows in a striking blue power suit with flared trousers as her visit begins
Kate meets children in the northern Italian city on her first solo trip in more than three years
The princess waves to royal fans as she receives a rapturous welcome in Reggio Emilia
Maria Angelo Redaelli set her alarm for 3.15am to make the 200km trip from her home in Lecco to Reggio Emilia.
She said: ‘I just love the royal family and I just had to be here. And I am an English teacher so I want to tell my students about her.
‘The princess said my hat was very glamorous and I gave her a rose. She is so beautiful.’
Marilena Prediere, 43, of Reggio Emilia spoke to Kate outside. She said: ‘I said give a big hug to your children.
‘I said you are beautiful and it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m from Reggio Emilia and this is a historic moment.’
Michael Cocchi, 51, from Parma, who was wearing a Wales rugby top, handed Catherine a bouquet as she shook hands with dozens of well-wishers.
Mr Cocchi said: ‘I gave Kate some flowers, pink and white roses, because I’ve loved Great Britain since I was a child.
‘I admire British culture, I admire British history and I’m inspired by British literature. I think they’re all family still has an important role in British culture.’
Around 20 children aged between three and five from Reggio Emilia’s Robinson Pre-School greeted the princess in the main square.
Alice, 5, said afterwards: ‘She asked my name in Italian. She spoke Italian very well.’
Teacher Roberta Marzi said meeting the princess was ’emotional’, adding: ‘She asked them some simple questions but her Italian was perfect she spoke clearly.’
The princess delights young fans as she stops to chat and pose for pictures with them
The princess is met by a crowd of 1,000 as she arrives for a two-day trip to Reggio Emilia
The princess meets Reggio Emilia’s mayor Marco Massari at the city’s town hall today
The princess is handed a bouquet of flowers as she meets well-wishers in Reggio Emilia
The princess hugs a royal fan who handed her a note after she arrived in Italy today
Inside the town hall, the princess was awarded the Primo Tricolore, the city’s highest honour.
In the main chamber, the ‘Sala del Tricolore’ which was adorned with Italian flags, the princess posed for a photograph with the mayor, Marco Massari, and Salvatore Angieri, Prefect of Reggio Emilia, before a short ceremony in which the mayor read out her credentials in the early years sector.
After hearing the translated version, the princess put her hand on her heart and said: ‘Wow, what an honour. I’m very grateful, it’s very gratefully accepted.’
The mayor went on to explain the history of the chamber, speaking in simplified Italian as the Princess recognised some words (‘molto’…’historia’… ‘importante’) and exclaimed in English in response: ‘Oh really! I can imagine!… So much history…’
She then spent half an hour sitting down with local ‘nonnas’ – Carla Nironi, Iona Bartoli, and Eletta Bertani – who told her of their work to spread the Reggio Emilia method of early years education through the community.
All three women were born around the start of the Second World War, and are considered instrumental in creating the programme that the Princess is here to see.
They spoke in Italian with a softly-spoken translator sitting next to the Princess, who nodded and smiled as the women spoke and laughed when they were heard to say they ‘asked our husbands for help’.
‘I love that you put children and childhood at the heart of the community, and I’m really fascinated to learn more about it,’ said the Princess.
When there was a brief pause in conversation, she added: ‘You obviously had to really fight for it. Why was it so important to you to invest in the community?’
Afterwards, she was heard to tell the mayor that it ‘really shows the power of investing early, to avoid later difficulties down the line’, adding: ‘I’m really grateful for the warm welcome.’
After signing the visitors’ book, she stepped out into the square in into a walkabout – which the Italians call a ‘crowd bath’.
The future queen is said to be ‘energised, enthused’ and ‘taking it up a gear’ as she gets back into royal duties after months of gruelling cancer treatment.
Over two days she is visiting pre-schools where they follow the Reggio Emilia Approach – a child-led teaching method for under sixes similar to Montessori.
Those around Catherine are describing this is a ‘huge moment’, and not just for her work centring around the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood she launched in 2021.
The life-changing diagnosis and surgery the future queen underwent in 2024 is said to have given her ‘a new perspective’ on all aspects of her life.
The word that keeps being used is ‘global’, and this just the start of her comeback.
Catherine seems set to embark on a globe-trotting mission to spread her passion for improving young lives.
Today’s trip marks a significant step forward in her return to full-time duties after her health setbacks.
One source said: ‘She’s looking forward to being here, she’s energised, she’s enthused, she’s excited to see Reggio Emilia in action and meet the people here too. This is a global mission’.
It is understood the cancer diagnosis and surgery in early 2024 has given her ‘a new perspective’ on all aspects of her life.
One palace official said: ‘This visit is an important step in the Princess’s recovery journey. She takes great joy from this work.
‘I think it is only right that her first international trip since her illness is one that is focused on an issue that is committed to championing for decades to come, and is a real issue that she wants to shine a spotlight on.’
Improving young lives has been described as Catherine’s ‘life’s work’.
Kate waves to royal fans as she touches down in Italy to continue her early years work
The princess is given the Primo Tricolore award by Reggio Emilia Mayor Marco Massari
Hundreds of royal fans line the Piazza Camillo Prampolini in Reggio Emilia to greet Kate
Kate poses for selfies with royal fans who welcome her to Italy with flowers
Members of the public wait for the arrival of the Princess of Wales in Reggio Emilia today
Although the future queen began a slow and measured return to public nine months after her treatment – she was officially in remission in January 2025 – this is her first overseas work trip.
The visit will highlight the origins of the world-renowned ‘Reggio Emilia approach’ to ‘child-led’ early years education, which is similar to Montessori.
Following the Second World War, residents – many of them women – financed some of Italy’s inaugural nursery schools by selling scrap metal salvaged from equipment left behind by retreating German forces.
These pioneering efforts laid the groundwork for the educational philosophy, which is now influential worldwide and aligns closely with Catherine’s focus on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Christian Guy, executive director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, who is on the trip, said the princess believed many of today’s ‘deepest social issues’ could be traced back to events in the early years when children’s brains are being formed.
He said: ‘Early childhood isn’t just a stage of human growth, it is a societal strategy. When we raise happy, healthy children, we build a happier, healthier society for everyone.’
Catherine, he said, was determined to spread understanding about the critical importance of the early years around the world, and was keen to see the Reggio Emilia approach for herself.
British diplomat Kassim Ramji, the Consul General in Milan, said the visit marked an important moment in UK-Italy relations.
Catherine will also meet locals and learn how to make pasta at a traditional rural lunch outside Reggio Emilia, renowned as Italy’s culinary capital and for its Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
As a young woman, the princess spent a formative gap year in Italy as she immersed herself in the language and art history at the British Institute of Florence.
An aide also said: ‘She was remembering the happy memories that she had during her time in Florence on her gap year.
‘She’s had many conversations with her husband the Prince of Wales, and her children about this trip, and they’re looking forward to hearing about it on her return to the UK.’
