Italians hang out of window as Kate makes solo visit – live updates

Kate, 44, has been presented with the ‘Primo Tricolore’, the highest honour of Reggio Emilia, in the main chamber of the town hall.

After hearing mayor Marco Massari speak, Kate said: ‘Wow, what an honour. I’m very grateful, it’s very gratefully accepted.’

She then spent half an hour sitting with local “nonnas” – Carla Nironi, Iona Bartoli, and Eletta Bertani – who spoke about their integral work in spreading the Reggio Emilia method throughout the community.

Speaking through a translator, the Princess of Wales said: ‘I love that you put children and childhood at the heart of the community, and I’m really fascinated to learn more about it.’

She also thanked the mayor for the ‘warm welcome’ to Italy, and added: ‘I’m really grateful’.

The Princess of Wales greeted well-wishers in Italian saying ‘I am Catarina’ as she was given a rapturous welcome.

Catherine was met by a crowd of 1,000 people – including a very excited-looking baby – as she arrived for her two-day trip to Reggio Emilia.

Prince William’s wife 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 excited locals were hanging out of windows surrounding the area.

The Princess of Wales has a profound decades-long personal connection to Italy which is rooted in her formative gap year in Florence, Italy in 2000.

Kate has previously described having rather ‘happy memories’ of her time at the British Institute in Florence studying Italian and art history.

A royal aide revealed ahead of the princess’s arrival in Italy today: ‘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.’

After chatting with crowds of hundreds well-wishers, Kate embarked on her second engagement of the day by paying a visit to the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre.

There, the princess toured studios and spaces where the Reggio Emilia approach, one of the world’s most historic and influential educational philosophies, is taught.

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.

Catherine seems set to embark on a globe-trotting mission to spread her passion for improving young lives.

Kate’s last solo royal engagement overseas was in 2022, when the then Duchess of Cambridge visited Denmark for a two-day visit.

During her trip, Kate met with Queen Margarethe II and Crown Princess Mary, while also paying a visit to the University of Copenhagen and the LEGO Foundation PlayLab.

Few can forget the endearing footage of Kate, then 40, whizzing down a tube slide instead of taking the stairs during her visit to the PlayLab.

Screaming with laughter after emerging from the slide, she joked with the press saying ‘you stood far enough away!’ adding ‘In the spirit of where I am, I had to do it.’

Opting to step out in a £59.99 red Zara blazer and white ruffled blouse – the colours of the Danish flag – Kate was praised for her flair in diplomatic dressing, while the overall visit was deemed as a sign of her growth in confidence as a working royal.

Kate will today be awarded the Primo Tricolore, Reggio Emilia’s highest civic prize. It consists of a replica of Italy’s green, white and red national flag, first adopted in the city in 1797.

The honour marks her ongoing commitment to forging connections, the healing power of nature and acts of kindness, as well as her work with children and families.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy was developed by Italian educator Loris Malaguzzi after World War II, drawing on his years of experience working in early childhood education as well as psychology.

The project’s roots can be traced to his experience helping a group of women establish a school in a war-torn village in 1945.

He later went on to work with children with learning difficulties, which shaped his education philosophy about prioritising individual differences.

‘The idea is that children are competent from the very first months of life and we need to construct educational contexts that are able to bring out their potential,” Nando Rinaldi, director of schools and nurseries for the Reggio Emilia municipality, said.

He described Kate’s visit as ‘a great recognition for us’ and ‘a source of pride’.

Catherine is currently taking part in a discussion focusing on the historical, cultural and educational background of the Reggio Emilia approach.

The senior royal was captured with the mayor of Reggio Emilia, Marco Massari, and the prefect of Reggio Emilia, Salvatore Angieri, inside the Town Hall.

After World War Two, residents of Reggio Emilia — many of them women — helped finance some of Italy’s first nursery schools by selling scrap metal from military equipment abandoned by retreating German forces.

Pioneering schools for children under six took shape there decades before national legislation governing nurseries was adopted in 1968.