Catherine, Princess of Wales, is to visit Reggio Emilia on May 13-14, for an event related to a campaign—of which she is the patron in the UK—to promote early childhood education, in what British media, led by the BBC, are calling another step towards a full return to royal duties after her bout with cancer.
    This will be an informal, ceremonial visit that the future queen will make alone, without her husband, William, heir to the throne of her father, Charles III.
    But above all, it will be her first trip abroad for public engagement since the tough fight with cancer she faced in 2024, which resulted in the announcement of remission following extensive, intensive chemotherapy.
    In 2024, William and Kate had planned a visit to Italy, which they were then forced to postpone due to the princess's health issues.
    This ordeal now appears to be behind them, several commentators point out, presenting the mission to Reggio Emilia as "a return" to the international stage.
    Kate's last foreign mission as a member of the royal family dates back to December 2022, when, three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she accompanied William to Boston, USA.
    In April 2025, Italy was the scene of a state visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla, who, after institutional meetings in Rome, also stopped in Ravenna and in Emilia-Romagna.

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