Princess Catherine’s First Official Overseas Tour Since Cancer Recovery
Princess Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is set to embark on her first official overseas royal tour since recovering from cancer. This trip marks a significant milestone in her public engagements and highlights her continued commitment to her early childhood education campaign.
Her last official overseas trip was with Prince William to the United States of America in December 2022. Recently, her father-in-law, King Charles, returned from an historic state visit to the US. While she has taken holidays to France and Jordan since her recovery, this upcoming journey to northern Italy will be her first official trip in her capacity as a Royal.
Princess Catherine is the latest member of the royal family to be heading off on a tour in 2026. Queen Mary and King Frederik made a royal tour to Australia earlier this year. Additionally, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the US, followed by King Charles’s visit to Bermuda. Princess Catherine’s brother-in-law, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, also visited Australia. However, their visit was not in an official royal capacity, as they have given up their royal status (although they retained their titles).
Previous Royal Tours
These are the best pictures of Queen Mary’s 2026 Australia tour
Royals
Prince Harry and Meghan in Australia: A tale of two receptions
Royals
Best moments of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s historic US State Tour
Royals
Best moments from King Charles’ Royal Visit to Bermuda
Princess Catherine’s Upcoming Trip to Italy
Princess Catherine will be traveling to Italy solo, and a spokesperson for Kensington Palace shared that she was “very much looking forward” to her visit. She will travel to Reggio Emilia and stay there for two days, on 13 and 14 May. The trip is aimed at supporting her early childhood education campaign. While in Reggio Emilia, she will learn how the city is approaching learning in the early years.
The city is home to the Reggio Emilia approach, an educational pedagogical philosophy which is student-centred and child-led. Loris Malaguzzi developed it in Italy after WWII. Classrooms are designed to encourage exploration, creativity and connection to nature. Education is experiential and self-directed. It has some bases in Australia, including in Hawthorn, Victoria.
Foundations for Life University of East London
The news comes on the day Princess Catherine promoted the launch of the Foundations for Life University of East London. These foundations are a guide developed by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Princess Catherine established this foundation in 2021. The Princess visited their facility and met with families, researchers and educators to learn about the processes and resources available.
“If you could invest in just one thing to help you and your family thrive, invest in the relationships you have with each other,” Princess Catherine wrote in an essay for the foundation.
“Children who are raised in environments rooted in love, safety and dignity are better able to develop the social and emotional scaffolding required to form healthy relationships, resolve conflict and grow into adults capable of building loving partnerships, families and communities themselves.”
“Look the people you care about in the eye and be fully there – because that is where love begins.”
We will share more details about Princess Catherine’s upcoming royal tour as soon as we know! Watch this space!
