Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
THE Princess of Wales looked well-suited to stepping up the mic as she spoke for children about their mental health.
Kate, 41, wore loose tan trousers and a fitted jacket over a white t-shirt with her hair in waves, as she recorded a podcast.
Speaking at youth intervention organisation Streets of Growth, in East London, she said: “Young people get judged on their external behaviour but you have to understand their backstory.
“They haven’t probably seen trusting relationships in their lives so that’s so important.”
The charity works with young people aged 15 to 25 who are at risk of becoming isolated and drawn into criminality.
It runs outreach and intervention sessions and has helped over 5,000 young people over two decades.
The Princess said she was keen to ‘connect the dots’ with her work in early childhood and the importance of meeting families and young people before they reach ‘crisis point’.
Earlier this year she launched ‘Shaping Us’, a campaign to improve importance of early childhood in shaping adulthood and society.
She added: “I love the fact you’re going out into communities, kids are so isolated, they’re at home with these huge struggles.”
Kate – who has stayed behind in the UK while William is in New York for his Earthshot Prize – met with mothers and daughters who have been helped by the service.
One of the girls said: “Doing these workshops has really helped – I used to be so shy, I didn’t really talk.’
Kate said: “What’s so fantastic is there’s an organisation in the community that works with a whole family in this way.
“It’s tools and skills and being able to express yourself. All these things are what so many people like this and the country need.
“It’s also meeting families and young people before they get to crisis point and there’s a huge amount of intervention that can be done.”
One of the staff told her: “Sometimes they don’t know that they need help.
“A lot of the time, the young people don’t even want to know us, it just means showing up every day. They’re very vulnerable.”