The Princess of Wales has arrived for The Future Workforce Summit in central London.

Princess Catherine has delivered a keynote speech today (Image: PA)

Princess Catherine has delivered a rallying call to business leaders urging them to prioritise “time and tenderness” alongside profit and success. Catherine, 43, delivered the opening remarks of a landmark summit organised to encourage big business to invest in early childhood – her first public speech in almost two years.

Speaking at The Future Workforce Summit this afternoon, the princess joined 80 business leaders who had gathered at Salesforce Tower in London to hear from experts in leadership, human development and early childhood. Among the global firms already signed up to the taskforce are Unilever, Ikea, Aviva, Deloitte, Co-Op and Lego.
In her speech,the princess told industry leaders it is vital to build a loving home and ensure the workplace safeguards wellbeing “just as much as productivity and success”.

She told those gathered her passion for promoting early years, described in the past as her “life’s work”, stemmed from the “essential truth” that “the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults”.

She went on to say: “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.”

Princess Catherine was spotted in a sleek grey suit (Image: Getty)

It marks the first time Catherine has spoken in public since she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of last year, following major abdominal surgery.

After months of gruelling chemotherapy, the Princess announced in January that she was now in remission and has made a gradual return to public duties.

In her speech, she thanked her team for their support during what has been a difficult personal period.

Addressing Christian Guy, the Director of the Centre for Early Childhood, the princess said: “Thank you Christian for holding the fort, particularly over the last couple of years.”

Among those to speak at the event, hosted by broadcaster Mishal Husain, was former England manager, Sir Gareth Southgate, as well as a host of early years experts including research psychologist Professor Marc Brackett, Prof Robert Waldinger from Harvard University and psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry.

The Princess of Wales speaks to journalist and broadcaster Mishal Husain (Image: PA)

Catherine’s Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, founded in 2023 to galvanise business action, hosted the event which featured taskforce members such as Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland Foods, and Dame Amanda Blanc, Aviva group chief executive.

The taskforce produced a report last year recommending a range of interventions, from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace, and stated the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5 billion through investment in early childhood.

She was due to leave the event at Salesforce Tower after a private lunch but decided to stay for the afternoon session when taskforce member chief executives discussed what their firms were doing to promote early years.

A source said: “She feels passionately about the work the Business Taskforce is doing to place early childhood at the heart of the business community.

“She stayed on this afternoon to hear more about how current taskforce members are inspiring some of the biggest businesses in the UK to make change too.”

Princess Kate wore a knatchball blouse worth £556 underneath her suit (Image: Getty)

Among those she met were rapper Professor Green, who was raised by his grandmother and collaborated with the Princess on her Shaping Us campaign, launched in 2023 to highlight the crucial first five years of a child’s life.

She also chatted to Giovanna Fletcher, who interviewed the Princess on her Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in February 2020, and former England player Ugo Monye, another Shaping Us champion.

The event coincided with the publication of a new report by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood called The Human Advantage.

The report, prepared by Deloitte, explores how, as AI increasingly handles technical tasks, competitive advantage will rely on human skills technology cannot replicate.

It highlights research that 81 per cent of business leaders believe there will be an increased need for human skills in the next five to ten years.

Very few business leaders were said to have identified the importance of early childhood in the development of those skills, nor did they appreciate the importance of investing in this critical period.

The Centre for Early Childhood will use the report’s findings to continue to engage with the business community and drive action and investment in the early years.