The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, and Catherine, are visiting Scotland for 2 days. The Royal couple’s tour to the highlands coincides with the Mental Health Awareness week. William and Catherine, who are titled The Earl and Countess of Strathearn in Scotland, will be visiting Glasgow and Edinburgh during their time in Scotland to learn more about the number of organizations that focus on mental health and affordable housing.
The tour is part of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and forms part of a UK-wide tour for the couple. In June The couple will join the country in 4 days long weekend celebrations marking The Queen’s 70 years on the British Throne. during the weekend-long celebrations, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be visiting Wales to join the celebrations there.
Yesterday, Prince William attended the State Opening of the Parliament for the first time.
The first stop of the day was St. John’s Primary School, Port Glasgow to partake in a Roots of Empathy session. Roots of Empathy is a worldwide charity first established in Canada that organizes small programs for school children Empathy to develop good habits as part of early years development. Scotland is the first country worldwide to deliver Roots of Empathy in every council area, following £1.2 million in Scottish Government funding. The program uses a unique approach, with a local parent and baby (or ‘Tiny Teacher’) alongside a trained instructor guiding the children to develop empathy. The sessions are run in the UK by Action for Children.
At the school, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met with the school staff and spent time playing with toddlers. Sitting on the floor with the school children, the parents of three adorable children, William and Catherine, learned more about the sessions and how it’s helping the young students. The session involved students interacting with a mother and her young baby as they learn how to build their understanding of the baby’s needs and emotions.
The Duchess looked enamored with 10-month-old Saul Molloy and attempted to read him a book. The couple also spent time talking to some of the older children who have completed the program. The engagement was more in line with The Duchess of Cambridge’s Early Years focus, who launched The Royal Foundation center for the Early Years last year.
Next, the Royal couple headed towards the Wheatley Group, an organization that helps transform the lives of vulnerable people and those who are at risk of homelessness.
Wheatley is Scotland’s leading housing, care, and property-management group and one of the UK’s best-accredited organizations. Owning or managing over 93,700 homes, Wheatley delivers award-winning services to over 210,000 people across 19 local authorities in Scotland and employs 2700 people directly and a further 2000 as joint owners of one of Scotland’s largest repairs and maintenance companies, City Building (Glasgow).
Outside the organization office, they warmly received the locals. The Royal couple spoke with service users who have benefitted from access to employment support to help mitigate the impact of poverty.
They also met with young people and families who have benefitted from wider support packages from Wheatley Foundation, also part of Wheatley Group, including education bursaries and a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Then they toured the organization’s new-build property in the Kennishead area and heard about the importance of good-quality, secure housing. Homelessness is a cause that William has been championing for a long time.
The last stop in Glasgow would be Glasgow University where they will discuss mental health with staff and students before hearing about pioneering work being done by researchers at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience.
There was a short walkabout outside the university to meet the members of the public.
Tomorrow they will be heading to Edinburgh for a day full of engagements. There will be a solo visit for The Duke on the schedule and he will visit Hearts Football Club to hear about the ‘Changing Room’ program, which uses football as a vehicle to help men aged 30 to 64 talk about their mental health.
Underneath the coat, The Duchess wore Cefinn Riley Funnel Neck Blouse with blue trousers. Thanks to innominate on Twitter for the id.
Catherine seems to be wearing her Rupert Sanderson Malory Pumps.
The Duchess was wearing her Annoushka Baroque Pearl Drops with new gold hoops.
Catherine was carrying her Polène Numéro Sept Mini Bag .
PS: The post is in progress and will be updated soon.
