Kate Middleton Helped Inmate Mothers Feel 'Comfortable' Despite Them Being 'Nervous' During Prison Visit

Mar. 15, 2025

Phil Noble-WPA Pool/Getty

Kate Middletonis taking her campaign for children to an unexpected place.

One of Princess Kate’s charities,Action for Children, runs units inside three different prisons in the U.K. (with a fourth due to debut soon), and the royal mom-of-three visited one at HMP Styal in Wilmslow, Cheshire, about 200 miles northwest of London.

On Tuesday, the royal met staff and former residents to hear about the support provided, targeted interventions and parenting support for the on-site mothers. She met three babies who are currently in the unit and took a walk to have a private talk with two of the moms and their newborns.

Amanda Taylor, Action for Children’s Operational Director of Children’s Services, tells PEOPLE that it was an “incredible visit.”

Kate Middleton visits women’s prison on Feb. 11, 2025.The Prince and Princess of Wales/X

The Prince and Princess of Wales/X

Although the mothers in the unit were “nervous,” the Princess of Wales made everyone feel “incredibly comfortable,” Taylor says.

“She just naturally helped the women to feel relaxed,” she explains. “One of the women found it hard to talk and she spent some time with her at the end, talking to her one to one. She is very skilled at making people feel comfortable. These are very vulnerable women in a difficult situation.”

Kate also met former prisoners and their toddlers with them.

The prison, which has a capacity of 454, currently has about 400 female prisoners, both on remand and those already completing their sentences, including those for life.

The visit to HMP Styal is part of Princess Kate’s ongoing work to showcase the importance of the early years in peoples’ development, irrespective of background or circumstance.

As well as employing early years practitioners at each site, whose job it is to make sure babies have the best possible care and are exposed to everyday experiences like going on a walk, going shopping or traveling on a bus, the Action for Children-backed units also organize overnight stays with other family members to create a positive bond and a wider support network for the child.

Kate has been patron of Action for Children since 2016 and a senior member of the charity’s team hasbeen involved in a key advisory capacityin the Princess’s early years mission. Kate’s commitment to raising awareness of, and working to ensure the best practice in, early childhood led her to set up the Royal Foundation’sCentre for Early Childhoodin 2021.

On Feb. 4, as she continued her gradual return to public-facing duties following the welcome news she isin “remission” from cancer, Katejoined a school tripthat was putting into practice some of the Framework’s initiatives at London’s National Portrait Gallery.

In June 2023, Princess Kate opened Hope Street in Southampton, England where Action for Children run a pioneering new family-friendly residential community that was piloting a new approach to supporting women in the justice system.

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Kate Middleton visits women’s prison on Feb. 11, 2025.Phil Noble-WPA Pool/Getty

Five years ago, at the height of the COVID pandemic in April 2020, Katewrote a supportive messageto the charity saying “Your willingness to be there for those that need your help is truly humbling.”

She added, “Whilst you are having to adapt your services during this pandemic, it is heartening to know that you are still able to provide vital support to children and families across the U.K. who need your help now more than ever.”

“Many of you are working on the frontline, in residential and other settings, to directly support children, with many others enabling this all to happen behind the scenes,” she continued.

“You must all have particular concerns at the moment for children who are especially vulnerable and who are spending time in home environments where they are at risk of violence, abuse and neglect. I know you will be doing all you can to look out for them.”

source: people.com