'EARLY CHILDHOOD IS THE SOCIETAL EQUIVALENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE'

THE PRINCESS OF WALES ADDRESSES BUSINESS LEADERS AS SHE LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR HER LEGACY

- LESLEY JONES

A loving, hands-on mum to young Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the Princess of Wales has now made it her mission to ensure that all Britain's youngsters are given the opportunity to flourish in their early years.

Last Tuesday, Kate, 41, visited NatWest's headquarters in London to host the very first meeting of her new Business Taskforce For Early Childhood.

Wearing a £1,490 ivory crepe Alexander McQueen blazer, slim black trousers and sky-scraping black heels, she had arrived to meet leaders from companies such as IKEA, Unilever and Aviva and share her thoughts on an issue which royal insiders say is her "life's work".

Kate was keen to talk about the social impact of care in children's lives from pregnancy to five years old. It's an issue that's become increasingly important to her in the course of her royal duties, having travelled across the country, meeting people who, again and again, have told her their difficulties in areas such as addiction, homelessness and mental health began in childhood.

Hoping to encourage industry leaders to help their workforces manage early years childcare and business, Kate made an impassioned speech, calling for radical change in the way workers with young families are supported.

"I have spoken before about the need to make early childhood the societal equivalent of climate change," she said, highlighting the seriousness of the issue.

"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."