In the heart of the city of london the princess of wales shows she means business as she puts the focus on the wellbeing of children

W ith London’s skyscrapers towering behind her, the Princess of Wales looked like she meant business while launching a new initiative to help improve the lives of families. Kate, 41, cut an impressive figure in front of the Shard and the Gherkin as she urged some of Britain’s most influential business leaders and employers everywhere to prioritise the wellbeing of staff and give youngsters a better start in life.

The Princess arrived at the headquarters of banking giant NatWest for the inaugural meeting of her new Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, joined by the bank’s chief executive Dame Alison Rose and Peter Flavel, head of wealth businesses at Coutts.

Comprising the heads of global companies including Unilever, Ikea and Lego, the taskforce follows January’s launch of Kate’s Shaping Us project – described as her “life’s work” – which aims to highlight the importance of early childhood and the role society has to play.

TIME FOR CHANGE

In an impassioned speech, the Princess said it was time to think “radically” and create a workforce that was “resilient, flexible and able to work through differences with each other”.

Saying the first five years of a child’s life were a “golden opportunity to transform our future outcomes” because of the unparalleled speed at which the young brain develops, Kate – mum to Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis – told the audience: “This, however, is not just about supporting children in the earliest years of their lives.

“It is also about building healthy communities in which they can grow because the healthy development of our children relies on healthy adults. So, this is why we all have a part to play.”

She added: “I have spoken before about the need to make early childhood the societal equivalent of climate change. In the way that the business world has embraced the net zero target to protect our environmental ecosystems, you also have an important role to play in ensuring that our social ecosystems are protected, too.”

Run by business for business, the new taskforce will play a major role in the Princess’s mission. Kate hopes the companies that have signed up will encourage others to adopt practices that look after the social and emotional welfare of sta