Kate Middleton on BBC’s Children in Need telethon on Nov. 17, 2023.Photo:Kensington Royal/X
Kensington Royal/X
Kate Middletonpopped up in an unexpected place on Friday: the telly!
The Princess of Wales, 41, made a surprise appearance on BBC to open their annual Children in Need telethon. Since it began in 1980, the broadcast has raised over £1 billion for disadvantaged youth in the U.K.
Speaking directly to the camera, Princess Kate said she was “delighted” that she was invited to kick off the festivities.
“Tonight is all about helping to support, champion and empower all children to be the very best they can be, which is crucial for their future health and happiness,” she said. “Our relationships, surroundings and experiences during the earliest years lay the foundations that shape the rest of our lives. And yet sadly, we know that for too many people, stressful and traumatic situations in early childhood can cause harm and it can take many years to overcome.”
“I hope you enjoy this evening’s show and best of luck to all those taking part in challenges and the incredible fundraising effort,” she finished.
Although the appearance was unannounced, the Children in Need telethon fits perfectly with the Princess of Wales' key work surrounding early childhood.
Earlier this year, the royal launched theShaping Us campaignfor herRoyal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
“The campaign is fundamentally about shining a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes the adults we become,” Kate said in a speech surrounding the project’s launch. “This is why it is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.”
Just like theRoyal Foundation’s Heads Together campaign, which focused on creating an openness to talk about mental health, “the Princess really wants this campaign to bring about change in the way that we think about and see the importance of early years,” a spokesperson at Kensington Palace said. The spokesperson added that the campaign was just the start and that the cause would be a “golden thread throughout her working life.”
Kate Middleton at the Shaping Us National Symposium on Nov. 15, 2023.Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Just this week, Princess Katebrought together experts in the fieldfrom across the world to a conference in London, where she gave the keynote speech.
“It is time we understood that building a healthier world means nurturing the foundations that support our children — everything from the systems that govern early care through to our attitudes to those raising the next generation, and the support they receive,” Princess Kate said at the Shaping Us National Symposium. “Because if we can create a society which sees the child within every adult — and the adult within every child — we will finally start to change it for the better.”
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Kate Middleton visits a forest school on Sept. 14, 2023.DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
source: people.com
