The buzz word of the trip was, without a doubt, “global.” The Princess of Wales, we were told ahead of her arrival, wants to start a global conversation about early years childcare. This visit marked the beginning of her bringing her work with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to a global audience. But what the trip ultimately cemented was just how much of a global superstar Kate really is.
Whether it was crowds chanting her name on her arrival at the Piazza Prampolini, children crowding round her at a pre-school, or people praising her use of Italian, the warmth with which the Princess was received was pretty much universal.
“The Italian people love the royal family…But Kate, I think, is the star of the family,” Italian Mediaset journalist, Lavinia Orefici, told T&C today as media waited for the Princess at one of her engagements. “I think she’s empathetic. She’s one of the people. She’s really the people’s princess, she came from the people. So when she arrived in the royal family, she was something new.”
One of the comparisons that was made more than once was, perhaps inevitably, to Princess Diana. And while Kate has very much carved out her own identity as Princess of Wales, there can be no doubting that the parallels are there in the nature and level of interest. Just as Princess Diana delighted the Italian public on her first official tour of Italy in 1985 with husband Prince Charles, so too Italians took Kate to their hearts on this first official visit.
“I think Italian people see in Kate the following of the story of Diana,” senior reporter for Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, Paola Rosato, told T&C ahead of Kate’s arrival. “She is very popular here in Italy. Italian people need a good story, a good representation of family.”
“I follow her on Instagram,” said 20-year-old George from near to Reggio Emilia. He was among the members of the public who came to stand outside the city’s creative resource centre, REMIDA, today in the hope of getting to meet Kate (in the end she waved but did not go over to them). “I like her personality, the fact that she’s very open to people. I think she embodies both her late Majesty, but also her late mother-in-law.”
In contrast to the 17 days Charles and Diana spent touring Italy in the 1980s, Kate spent just over 24 hours in Reggio Emilia and the surrounding area. But in the intensity of the internet age that was more than enough time to generate millions of search engine results analyzing her trip from all possible angles. More than 100 members of accredited media packed into every position allocated. And the crowds, made up of people of all ages, became a sea of iPhones as she shook as many hands as possible.
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Kate visited a school in Reggio Emilia to take part in outdoor learning.
There remains intense global interest and enthusiasm for Kate—and that in itself makes her a huge asset to the relevance of the British monarchy. Yet what she wants to do with this profile repeatedly emerges as a reason for why people feel connected to her.
“I was impressed by the humanity of that person. I was also impressed by the capacity that she has to understand what we are saying,” Marco Spaggiari told T&C after he met Kate in a clay workshop at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre yesterday. Norma Guinto, President of education organization RedSOLARE Mexico, had a long discussion with the Princess about bringing the Reggio Emilia childcare approach to other parts of the world. “She had active listening,” Norma said. “Being the person she is, I think she can influence education around the world and to benefit children from different backgrounds. We need that in this moment of our history as humanity.”
Kate’s work on the early years has been going on for more than a decade, and this week is just one example of it making headlines. The Reggio Emilia approach has long been renowned in its field, but there can be no doubt that it has become more universally renowned these past two days.
Kensington Palace described the purpose of the trip as a “high-level fact-finding” mission and a “powerful starting point” for international collaboration on early years. It was also a potent reminder of the impact the Princess of Wales can have all by herself on the global stage.
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.