Catherine, Princess of Wales working from home

Catherine, Princess of Wales has been working from home on her early years project while she recovers from abdominal surgery.

The 41-year-old royal had an operation in January and while she hasn't yet returned to carrying out public engagements, Kensington Palace have confirmed she has been kept up to date with her initiative and the "overwhelmingly positive" results of a study funded by her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

A spokesperson for Kensington Palace told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: “The Princess has been kept updated throughout the process.”

Catherine had personally suggested the use of a baby observation tool by health visitors to improve how they spot signs of social and emotional development in young children after seeing it in action during a 2022 visit to Denmark.

The results of the four-month trial - which was conducted in NHS trusts by the Institute of Health Visiting and the University of Oxford - are due to be published on Thursday (21.03.24).

Christian Guy, executive director of the Centre for Early Childhood, said: “The results of the initial phase of testing are so encouraging.

“We now want to move quickly to ensure we build on this work, bringing the benefits of this model to more health visitors across the country so that, ultimately, more babies and their families get the support they need to thrive.”

Dr Jane Barlow, professor of evidence-based intervention and policy evaluation at the University of Oxford, who oversaw the evaluation of the trial, said: “It is truly exciting to think about [the] impact this could have on families right across the country as we enter the next phase of this research.”

The Centre for Early Childhood - which is part of The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales - was established in 2021.