UK's Catherine, princess of Wales, to launch early childhood project

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, will this week unveil a major project in her campaign to highlight the importance of children's early development.

Catherine, also known as Kate, set up her Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 and reportedly sees the campaign as her "life's work".

The princess, who is married to heir to the throne Prince William, said people needed to get "much better at acting with compassion and empathy towards one another".

"At the heart of all of this is the need for us to develop and nurture a set of social and emotional skills," she said in a statement as her early childhood centre published a "framework" aimed at encouraging efforts to improve the skills.

Social and emotional skills were "fundamental to our future mental and physical well-being, shaping everything from our ability to form positive relationships, to our capacity for learning, working and coping with adversity", the centre said.

The first project based on the scheme is due to be launched this week. The exact date has not yet been announced.

Catherine, 43, who is mother to Prince George 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis, has only recently begun a gradual return to royal duties after a shock cancer diagnosis last year.

She revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with a type of cancer, which she did not specify, and was undergoing chemotherapy.

The announcement came weeks after her father-in-law, Britain's head of state King Charles III, disclosed that he too was receiving treatment for cancer.

Both withdrew from public life for months in 2024 but have since resumed royal duties, although Catherine's return has been on a more limited scale.

She and William are set to make more appearances together in 2025 as they eye a return to normality.