Princess Kate beams as she plays with baby during hospital visit

Princess Kate beams as she plays with baby during hospital visit The Princess of Wales has arrived at the Chase Community Hospital in Hampshire to speak with patients and staff about how her early years project can help babies and families in need of support The Princess of Wales was seen beaming as she played with a baby during a visit to a hospital. The mum-of-three is in Hampshire for a visit to the Chase Community Hospital, where she is meeting patients and staff. The Princess of Wales arrived at the hospital this afternoon wearing a grey striped suit and burgundy turtleneck, with matching handbag. Kate was greeted by hospital staff before making her way inside where she joined in a play session with six-month-old baby Enid and six-month-old Ruby. During Kate’s visit, she will see first hand how a project funded by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood is being expanded to help identify more babies and their families who need extra support. During the visit, Kate will meet health visitors using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), an evidence-based observational tool that helps healthcare and childcare professionals identify early social and relational withdrawal in infants aged 0 to 24 months. The Princess of Wales will also observe a baby health and development review, meet families who have benefited from additional support following an ADBB assessment, and join discussions with healthcare professionals and NHS representatives interested in implementing the approach within their own services. Last month, the future queen announced a new project as part of her early years work, to explore how the role of nature can support social and emotional development in babies and young children. The Princess of Wales has long been a champion of early years development with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The new research will bring together evidence, expertise and practical experience from around the UK and the world, to better understand how nature-rich environments can help nurture confident, curious, creative and emotionally healthy children. To launch the project, a video was shared on Kensington Palace’s social media, showing Kate standing in a woodland area in a knitted jumper and jacket, with her curled hair flowing freely. In the video, Kate said: "New scientific research increasingly shows just how important nature is for our psychological and physiological wellbeing. "Nature is such an extraordinary environment for us all and, in this tech-driven, digital age, spending quality time outdoors has never been more important. This project is about exploring how nature, creativity and relationships can best support the healthy development of babies and young children." Kate’s visit to Hampshire comes just hours after she described some of the ‘darkest days’ of her cancer journey in a candid interview. The princess said she faced ‘good days and bad days’ in the interview, which was commissioned by her husband Prince William for his special edition of Country Life magazine. Kate told author Robert Macfarlane of her health battle: “I was told in hospital that my recovery would not be linear. There will be good days and bad days, and that it will take time. This is the same in nature. It shows us that periods of rest, reflection and renewal are equally as important as moments of growth.” She described nature as offering something unique in her healing journey, as the future queen said: “It doesn’t ask anything of us. It doesn’t judge us or expect us to perform. It simply allows us to be. It really has been my sanctuary and a place I’ve instinctively wanted to go.” Asked where she finds hope, Kate replied that she did so in the lessons taught by nature “that, despite the challenges life may throw at us, we are not alone and that we’re interconnected with something bigger than ourselves”.