Kate Middleton and Prince William’s day out in the countryside – live updates

The Prince and Princess of Wales paid a special visit to Hereford on Thursday for two important engagements.

They kicked off their busy afternoon with a meaningful visit to the Madley Primary School’s Forest School where outdoor learning is prioritised within the day-to-day curriculum to bolster children’s physical and mental wellbeing.

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At the Forest School, founded by headmaster Lee Batstone and Duchy Head Forester, Geraint Richards, children are taught on a weekly basis in a woodland environment. Their program includes both national curriculum subjects in addition to topics covering environmental awareness, conservation, and woodland management.

Elsewhere in their program, children are taught how to craft things from natural materials and how to use knives and equipment safely and correctly. Older pupils, meanwhile, have also learned to light and maintain fires for cooking use at the site.

The Duchy of Cornwall and Madley Primary School, have been partners of the Forest School initiative for the last 12 years. Their partnership has blossomed ever since the Duchy supplied Madley Primary School with a woodland site specifically set aside for the Forest School.

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Since its inauguration, the Duchy has continued to increase the amount of woodland area in line with the school’s expansion.

For the special outing, Princess Kate, 41, dressed down in a chic grey blazer which she teamed with a pair of figure-flattering black jeans and some sturdy brown lace-up boots. She wore her bouncy brunette tresses down loose around her shoulders and accessorised with a simple silver pendant. 

Prince William, 41, meanwhile, looked dapper in a smart grey jacket, a pale blue shirt and a pair of navy chinos. 

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Later in the afternoon, Prince William and Princess Kate will visit Kings Pitt Farm, where they will meet with Duchy of Cornwall farming tenants, Sam and Emily Stables.

Sam and Emily set up We Are Farming Minds to remove the stigma attached to mental health issues in the farming industry. The charity works tirelessly to improve the mental health of farmers living in rural communities throughout Hereford.

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It offers farmers fully funded access to a range of services including counselling, a 24-hour phone and text support line, free mental health awareness workshops and social events throughout the year.

The Duchy of Cornwall has teamed up with We are Farming Minds in support of its brand-new Mental Health Strategy which aims to offer ongoing mental health support to all its tenants, focusing primarily on farmers living in more isolated communities.

Princess Kate has long been a champion of prioritising mental wellbeing, including that of children and young people.

Over the years, she has dedicated her time to supporting various mental health programmes, such as the launch of Heads Together, Shout 85258, and the Mentally Healthy Schools programme.

Beyond this, she is also a patron of a number of charities which focus on promoting and providing mental health support to those in need.

The second episode of “A Right Royal Podcast” takes a deep dive into royal holidays and in particular, their love of Balmoral, the royal family’s favourite summer holiday destination in Scotland. Discover Why William stopped flying with Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Prince Harry aged just 12 by listening to the latest episode below: