The Princess of Wales will travel to Italy next week on her first official overseas engagement for more than three years.

She will visit the historic northern city of Reggio Emilia, her first overseas royal trip since undergoing cancer treatment - with her last being Boston in the US in December 2022, accompanying Prince William.

Catherine's solo trip, on 13 and 14 May, will support her campaign for early childhood education, with the princess "fact finding" about the Italian city's distinctive approach to early years learning.

"The princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy next week," said a Kensington Palace spokesman, about her milestone return to international visits.

Catherine will see "first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children's development", said the Kensington Palace spokesman.

The Italian city is the home of a child development philosophy that puts an emphasis on personal relationships, play-based learning and being led by children's own enthusiasms.

The princess will meet educators, parents, children, local representatives and business leaders during her visit to the city.

The two-day trip overseas marks another stage in Catherine's full return to royal duties.

After treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, she announced in January 2025 that she was in remission. But Catherine has spoken about the good days and bad days during her recovery, after what she's called a "life-changing experience".

According to opinion polls, she is consistently among the most popular royals and there is likely to be great interest in her latest return, not least among the editors of the front pages of newspapers.

There have been short trips to France and Jordan, and private holidays, but this will be the first official overseas visit by the Princess of Wales in almost three and a half years.

The Italian visit will add an international dimension to her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, set up in 2021, which explores how difficult adult problems, including addiction and mental health issues, can have deep roots in early childhood.

On Wednesday, the centre will be publishing a new guide, Foundations for Life, as a resource for those working with babies, young children and their families, which emphasises the importance of social and emotional development.

"The quality of our connections - with ourselves, with others and with the world around us - shapes how safe we feel, how we relate, and how we process experiences throughout our lives," writes Catherine, in the foreword of the guide to be launched at the University of East London.

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