The Princess of Wales was on dazzling form for her first overseas visit since 2022 as she touched down in Italy yesterday.
Catherine, 44, received a momentous welcome from hundreds of royal fans who lined the Piazza Camillo Prampolini in Reggio Emilia on Wednesday.
Some were even pictured hanging out of windows for a glimpse of Britain’s future Queen, who was a vision in a blue pantsuit.
Prince William‘s wife, who received the city’s highest honour for work promoting early years development of children, is carrying out her first official foreign royal visit in nearly four years after her cancer treatment.
The trip marks a ‘huge moment’ in Catherine’s recovery, but it was just as significant for the throngs of royal well-wishers who basked under the future Queen’s attention.
The mother-of-three was greeted with whoops and shouts of ‘bellissima’ and ‘kate’ as she told the mayor of Reggio Emilia she was moved and ’emotional’ by the outpouring of love.
Catherine left her fans swooning as she introduced herself in fluent Italian, hugged schoolchildren, spent time chatting with local ‘nonnas’, posed for selfies and accepted bouquets bursting with flowers.
She also proved she’s the reigning queen of diplomatic dressing as she honoured Italy’s culture by wearing a power suit in ‘Savoy blue’ or azzurro – the country’s historic national colour.
The Princess of Wales was on dazzling form for her first overseas visit since 2022 as she touched down in Italy yesterday
Hordes of people lined the streets of Reggio Emilia as the anticipation over Catherine’s arrival crescendoed to a deafening roar from the crowd.
While most fans expected her fashion to be a spin on Italy’s tricolour flag, Catherine opted for a more surprising ‘cornflower’ blue ensemble, including the ‘Lola’ jacket and ‘Averill’ trousers from Edeline Lee.
While she finished the look with a crisp white shirt, onlookers were impressed after they realised the blue was a more subtle tribute to Italian history.
Catherine’s suit was the exact Savoy blue colour that was first used in 1366 by Amedeo VI of Savoy, who displayed a large flag on his ship during a crusade, according to Marie Claire.
Her Asprey London Mini Handbag in Sky Blue was the star of the show. Retailing at £3,995, it was a fitting choice given Kate’s long-documented love of the brand.
To accessorise, she opted for Kiki McDonough hoop earrings and a Vintage Chain Pearl Necklace, fitted with oak and acorns.
Catherine was met by a crowd of 1,000 people – including a very excited-looking baby and a royal fan who travelled 200km to see the princess – as she arrived at the Piazza Camillo Prampolini.
Baby Elena, aged three months, was held over the barrier by her mother, Marta and beamed as the future queen stopped to play with her.
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 (Mi chiamo Catarina).’
The princess wows in a striking suit in a subtle nod to the country’s historic Savoy blue national colour
The Princess of Wales meets a smiling baby in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia this afternoon
The princess delights young fans as she stops to chat and pose for pictures with them
The princess is handed a bouquet of flowers as she meets well-wishers in Reggio Emilia
Members of the public wait for the arrival of the Princess of Wales in Reggio Emilia today
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.
Maria Angela 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 thinkthe Royal Family still has an important role in British culture.’
The Princess hugging a student at the Scuola Comunale d’infanzia Anna Frank in Reggio Emilia,
She participated in a creative session with the students
Catherine crouched down to chat with students at the municipal pre-scool
The princess appeared in high spirits on the first day of her visit to Italy
Around 20 children aged between three and five from Reggio Emilia’s Robinson Pre-School greeted the princess in the main square.
Alice, five, 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.’
Inside the town hall, the princess was awarded the Primo Tricolore, the city’s highest honour.
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 early years 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 Catherine.
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?’
After signing the visitors’ book, she stepped out into the square into a walkabout – which the Italians call a ‘crowd bath’.
The princess, who was greeted with whoops and shouts of ‘bellissima’ and ‘kate!’, launched herself into a walkabout, where people had been waiting up to five hours to see her.
She was heard to tell the mayor that the warm welcome had left her ’emotional, seeing everyone’. ‘Aww, thank you,’ she told him, putting her hand on her heart and looking around.
People shouted variations of her name – ‘Kate!’ ‘Katie!’ ‘Catherine!’ and ‘I love you’ – in an attempt to catch her attention, as she made her way down the lines of people posing for selfies.
‘Buongiorno,’ she said, repeatedly. ‘Thank you so much.’
Pausing to speak to children from local pre-schools, she crouched down to get to their eye level to chat.
‘Parlo un po’ d’italiano,’ she said, gesturing that she speaks only a little Italian before asking their names.
As the engines of the cars in the convoy started, signalling that the first job of the trip was overrunning and the princess had to move on, she said: ‘Oh I need to wave a general hello’ and stepped back to wave.
As the car door opened, she ran back towards two women who were holding flowers she had missed the first time.
For her final visit of the day, Catherine travelled to Scuola Comunale d’infanzia Anna Frank, a municipal pre-school for three to six-year-olds.
The pupils couldn’t contain their delight as the future Queen joined them for a creative session, as photos showed Catherine surrounded by the children.
The Princess stopped to talk to a small group of teachers, telling them of the Reggio Emilia method: ‘Thank you for what you do. It’s amazing here, isn’t it?’
When adults handed her cards and handmade pictures from their children, who were in school elsewhere, the princess said: ‘Will you say hello to them for me?’
By the time the sun set on the first day of Catherine’s Italian trip, it almost felt like she had never really been away.
