The Princess of Wales has delivered a compelling message – her
first speech in two years since she was diagnosed with cancer.
Speaking at the Future Workforce Summit in the City of London,
her message emphasised the value of care, tenderness and early
childhood development.
The Princess Of Wales’s speech in full
Good morning everyone. Thank you for being here today, I do
hope you will find it interesting and insightful. We have got some
fantastic speakers, thank you, to all of you for your time, support
and commitment.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you
to Christian, who has led The Centre and built many of the
relationships here today. Thank you Christian for holding the fort,
particularly over the last couple of years.
My passion and the work of The Centre for Early Childhood
stems from one essential truth; that the love we feel in our
earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive
as adults.
Love is the first and most essential bond. But it is also
the invisible thread, woven with time, attention and tenderness,
through consistent, nurturing relationships which creates the
grounded and meaningful environments around a child.
It is this texture, the weave of love, which forms a child’s
emotional world and becomes the foundation, the very fabric of
resilience and belonging.
The home should be the space where love, safety and rhythm
enable a child to thrive.
A loving home ultimately teaches us how to love and how to
care, but every environment has the potential to shape our
hearts.
Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a
home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the
ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave. Imagine a world where
each of these environments were built on valuing time and
tenderness just as much as productivity and success.
As business leaders you will face the daily challenge of
finding the balance between profitability and having a positive
impact. But the two are not, and should not be
incompatible.
At The Centre for Early Childhood, we believe that we must
do all we can to create the conditions for love to flourish. That
is how we invest in our future.
Every child deserves respect and safety, and everyone who
cares deserve recognition and appreciation. Every act of care
creates community because we are all essentially weavers of the
same fabric.
I believe in restoring the dignity to the quiet, often
invisible work of caring, of loving well, as we look to build a
happier, healthier society.
You are here because you care, so thank you.
