Duchess Kate lent her voice to an important cause at the Royal Foundation’s Mental Health in Education conference in London on Wednesday, February 13.

The 37-year-old royal spoke passionately about how one’s mental well-being develops at a young age with the support of loving parents. “Over the last eight years working with charities, I’ve met some of our leading experts in mental health, addiction, family breakdown, homelessness and education,” the Duchess of Cambridge explained. “They have taught me over and over again that the root cause of so many of today’s social problems can be traced right back to the very earliest years of a person’s life and often over generations. 

Kate noted that there is “scientific evidence” to prove “the first few years of a child’s life are more pivotal for development and for future health and happiness than any other single moment in our lifetime.”

The philanthropist, who shares three children with husband Prince William — Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 9 months — added, “I feel so passionately about working together and being here today has affirmed to me just how much already is being done, so thank you to all of you who are prioritizing the importance of mental health and the importance of childhood development as a whole.”

Kate, who leads the Royal Foundation’s mental health project Heads Together alongside the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, continued, “I look forward to hearing how your discussions will lead to proactive steps and to an ever more resounding commitment to mentally healthy schools, teachers and children.”

This is not the first time Kate has advocated for charitable causes. In January, she opened up about the challenges of parenthood during a visit to the Family Action organization in London. “It’s so hard. You get a lot of support with the baby as a mother particularly in the early days, but at the age of 1, it falls away,” she said at the time. “Everybody experiences the same struggle.”

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