Kate Middleton and Prince William visit Heredord on Sept. 14, 2023.Photo:CAMERON SMITH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
CAMERON SMITH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Prince George,Princess CharlotteandPrince Louisaren’t the only ones returning to school this month — so are their parents,Kate MiddletonandPrince William!
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 41, joined a group of schoolchildren on Thursday for their weekly lessons outside at their forest school. Each child at Madley Primary School in Hereford attends an outdoor class at least once a week, learning their regular required lessons as well as environmental awareness, conservation and woodland management.
According to theschool’s website, “Forest school is a fully integrated part of our curriculum and is accessible to all year groups, not just building dens but finding out about ecology, experiencing writing in the woods, construction from natural materials, using equipment safely, using knives correctly and enjoying a stimulating environment.”
Prince William and Princess Kate joined the children in helping prepare food for a campfire and skimming bark off logs. William also used a saw to cut some logs for a tree den — and Kate even popped inside for a look!
Prince William and Kate Middleton visit a forest school on Sept. 14, 2023.DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The outing came as Prince William and Princess Kate highlighted two organizations that have partnered with William’s Duchy of Cornwall to raise better mental well-being.
The Duchy of Cornwall — the estate that generates an income to support William, Kate and their family’s public life — has provided the school a woodland site at Brampton Hill Wood for its forest school for 12 years. As the school has grown, the Duchy has enabled the school to have a larger area to use, and increase the facilities available.
Kate Middleton and Prince William visit a forest school on Sept. 14, 2023.DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The couple have been longtime advocates of the benefits of both playing and learning outdoors. When Princess Kate and Prince William visited Norway in 2018, theyspent time with kindergarten kidswho are regularly taught outside in sub-zero temperatures.
Kate Middleton goes inside a tree den on Sept. 14, 2023.DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Hereford on Sept. 14, 2023.Cameron Smith/Getty Images
Cameron Smith/Getty Images
After the school visit, the couple headed to a farm. There, they met Sam and Emily Stables, who are Duchy of Cornwall tenants who have founded a mental health charity for farmers.
We Are Farming Mindssupports the mental health of farmers in rural communities in the county of Herefordshire, which is on the England-Wales border.
Services include counseling, a 24-hour phone and a text support line, free mental health awareness workshops and social events throughout the year to counter the isolation, which farmers can sometimes feel.
The Duchy of Cornwall is working with We Are Farming Minds as part of its ongoing mental health support for all its tenants. This mirrors Prince William’s wish to utilize some of the causes and interests he and Kate have been developing in their public life into the day-to-day working of the vast estate.
Prince William inherited the estate, which historically goes the heir to the throne, when his grandmotherQueen Elizabethdied last September.
Princess Kate and Prince William’s day also included a surprise visit to SAS headquarters (Sterling Lines) in Hereford. Before heading to the school, they spent some time with the families of the special forces.
Kate Middleton and Prince William visit Hereford on Sept. 14, 2023.Cameron Smith/Getty Images
source: people.com
