The Princess of Wales made a surprise visit to Castle Hill Academy in Croydon, South London to mark Children's Mental Health Week on Thursday. Princess Catherine has long been a vocal advocate for speaking out about our mental health and for recognising how our earliest years shape the people we become.

Having previously described early years development and her subsequent project, Shaping Us, her "life's work", there are few people better placed to speak about how vital it is to support children's emotional wellbeing and provide them with supportive and nurturing environments.

Catherine's visit, which ties in with her role as the Patron of mental health charity, Place2Be, comes days after she and Prince William issued a bombshell statement after further revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

With this year's Children's Mental Health Week theme being This is My Place, it is more important than ever that young people feel they belong and know they have a place that helps them feel safe and connected.

Castle Hill Academy has long worked with Place2Be and has ensured that mental health and wellbeing support is a major focus in daily school life. During her visit, Catherine met children, parents, teachers and Place2Be practitioners to learn more about how the school community is marking Children's Mental Health Week.

Beginning her visit at the Early Years outdoor play space, which has been designed with Place2Be's therapeutic principles in mind, the Princess saw exactly how the space promotes emotional regulation, sensory exploration and creative play.

Catherine then met parents who have been helped by the charity's support, some of whom previously had the same help when they were students at the school.

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As well as a visit to the school's art room, Catherine met with representatives from both the school and the charity's leadership teams to discuss their approaches to children's mental health and the specific challenges facing young people and their families in the New Addington school community.

The Princess has devoted much of her time and effort to becoming a true expert in early years development, even launching Shaping Us, an awareness campaign that spotlights the importance of early childhood. Stepping out when she launched Shaping Us in 2023, the Princess declared: "it is more important than ever" to support the development of young children.

She added: "The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical wellbeing as adults and the way we parent our own children. These are the most preventive years. By focusing our collective time, energy and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come."