The Duchess of Cambridge held a gala dinner at Buckingham Palace on March 9, after the Commonwealth Day service, to mark the 25th Anniversary of Place2Be, of which she has been Royal Patron since 2013.

Embed from Getty Images

Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity that works in schools across the UK to provide mental health counseling to children. Kate has visited Place2Be schools a good 16 times over the years since she became Patron, and Place2Be is also a Heads Together partner. She’s also supported Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week every year since it launched in 2015.

Embed from Getty Images

Children from three Place2Be partner schools were in attendance – The New North Academy in Islington; Salusbury Primary School in Queens Park; and Cranbrook School in Kent. The New North Academy and Salusbury Primary students created and performed a song with members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Community and Education department, Resound.

Embed from Getty Images

Kate gave a speech, which KP didn’t bother to put online. Place2Be did post some excerpts from the speech, but not the whole thing, and I haven’t been able to find a full video either.

Place2Be have been the pioneers in schools-based mental health support since 1994, helping over 250,000 children and their families. Having visited many of your schools, meeting hundreds of your wonderful staff, children and young people, it is heartwarming to see that the support you provide is so much more than just being there in a time of desperate need.

[…]

Place2Be was one of the first charities I became Patron of. I knew it was special then, but having spent many years since, learning about the importance of childhood development, I see even more the value in the work that you do and I am hugely grateful for all that you have taught me over the past seven years.

You taught me, right from the start, that the children in your schools are only as happy and emotionally strong as the adults in their care. That is why you take such great pride in the work you do with your teachers and your parents.

You taught me the importance of creating safe and nurturing environments within schools, embracing a holistic view of emotional well-being which permeates through the whole school system.

You also taught me that it’s the simplest things that make a difference to children. It’s the quality time that is spent with them. It’s the time you take to listen to them. It is trusting relationships that have the most profound impact on the emotional and mental wellbeing of a child.

YouTube & Place2Be

FYI Kate became Patron of Place2Be in 2013 during her second round of patronage acquisitions.

The video cut off at an odd time, with the line “it is heartwarming to see that the support you provide is so much more than just being there in a time of desperate need.” I’m guessing she went on to say something about how Place2Be also takes preventative action toward children’s mental health, and trains teachers and parents on how to help children through mental health stressors, which is something Place2Be does and is a topic Kate brings up a lot. But there’s no way for me to know. Darn you KP for not publishing the full speech!

Embed from Getty Images

2020 is the year of bringing back tour gowns I thought we’d never see again. For Place2Be’s 25th anniversary, Kate brought back a blue beaded Jenny Packham gown she wore during the tour of India in 2016. She forwent the shawl this time, but kept the matching clutch.

Embed from Getty Images

Kate’s earrings are from my most hated of nemeses, Erdem. They’re the “Crystal And Pearl-embellished Floral-drop Earrings In Blue” ($460) from one of the 2018 collections. It amuses me that Kate buys things and waits to debut them until they’re seasons old and out of stock.

Kate’s shoes are the same glittery Jimmy Choos she wore to the BAFTAs.

Embed from Getty Images

A couple more photos. There weren’t a lot of photos from this event; it wasn’t well covered.

Embed from Getty Images

As a side note, I find it incredibly jarring that the children were in their school uniform while all the adults were in black tie. Why not let the kids get dressed up?

Embed from Getty Images