Kate's been busy behind the scenes! Princess held 'working session' with Melinda French Gates to discuss collaborating on young people's development projects

The Princess of Wales secretly met Bill Gates' ex-wife Melinda French to explore collaborating on young people's development projects earlier this month. Kate, 44, and Melinda, 61, met in London on October 8 after an initial meeting at Windsor Castle in June. They discussed potential collaboration between Kate's Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and Pivotal, the investment and philanthropic organisation Melinda founded in 2015 to support women and young people. During their 'working session', Kate and Melinda talked about what can be done to better support young people and their 'ability to thrive throughout life,' royal aide Christian Guy revealed on LinkedIn. Alongside a photo of the pair, the executive director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood wrote: 'Groundbreaking research has uncovered something profound yet reassuring: the quality of the relationships we experience throughout our lives influences our health, happiness and wellbeing like little else.'Together, in close partnership with Melinda's team at Pivotal, we explored how The Shaping Us Framework, developed by The Princess alongside more than 100 human development experts from around the world, can help us think about whole-person development at every stage of life. Kate, 44, and Melinda, 61, met in London on October 8 after an initial meeting at Windsor Castle in June'We are so grateful for the vision, ambition and commitment that both The Princess and Melinda bring to this work,' he added. 'Over the coming months, partnering with Melinda and Pivotal, we will be exploring how The Royal Foundation might build on this in practical ways.' Kate opted for a smart, business-casual ensemble for her meeting with the billionaire philanthropist, including a tailored navy blazer and matching wide-leg trousers. Meanwhile, Melinda put on an elegant display in a burgundy dress. The meeting was held before Kate launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood's new project to explore how nature can support social and emotional development in babies and young children.Kate said 'spending quality time outdoors has never been more important' in a poignant message to parents.Kate spoke from the heart about her lifelong initiative to better the lives of young children – urging parents to get youngsters to put down their phones and enjoy the great outdoors.‘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,' the future queen said in a video shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales' official Instagram account.Kensington Palace also released a new series of portraits of Kate in the countryside taken by Josh Shinner.The princess looked radiant in her favourite wax jacket, under which she wore a patterned jumper and pie-frill blouse. Her hair was styled in loose waves.The video was filmed yesterday in Cornwall with the support of the Prince of Wales. Given he runs The Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William is said to be taking a keen interest in the project.The project will bring together evidence, expertise and practical experience from around the UK and the world to better understand how nature-rich environments help nurture confident, curious, creative and emotionally healthy children with the help of academics, early years practitioners, charities and environmental organisations.It will also take existing developmental science and explore how it can be applied more ambitiously and effectively through nature-based settings.Kate outlined her vision for the project and explained why this area is so important to her in the video released on October 16. She said: ‘New scientific research increasingly shows just how important nature is for our psychological and physiological wellbeing. Earlier this month, Kate launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood's new project to explore how nature can support social and emotional development in babies and young children with a video message ‘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.'We believe that taking a whole-child approach is important, and nature becomes a wonderful place to explore how we can successfully nurture the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing.’She added: ‘My hope is that through this practical, nature-based research, we can build supportive environments that help make nature more accessible, benefiting babies, young children and their families across the UK.’The announcement followed new polling, commissioned by the Centre, which shows that 84 per cent of parents agree that spending time in nature helps their child's wellbeing and development, while only 33 per cent report their child actually spends time in nature every day.Over 60 per cent want their child to spend more time in nature overall and 56 per cent want more nature-based experiences through childcare and education.Both the princess and her husband have spoken previously of their frustration at the way digital technology is taking over the lives of young people at the expense of life-enhancing play and social interaction.William has revealed that so far they have banned their own three children from having phones, although they conceded that their eldest, Prince George, 13, would be given one when he enrolled as a boarder at Eton.Kate's meeting with Melinda could represent the next chapter in her longstanding work on early childhood and social and emotional development, building on her exploration of the role that relationships, environments and experiences play in children’s development.This has included her visit to a forest kindergarten in Denmark in 2022, where she saw first-hand how outdoor learning environments can support young children’s development, and, more recently, her visit to Reggio Emilia in Italy.The new work also builds on themes the princess has increasingly spoken about publicly, including the importance of nature, creativity, connection and belonging in helping children and communities thrive.Her Mother Nature film series explored these themes through personal reflections on the power of nature to nurture, restore and inspire, and its ability to help us reconnect with ourselves, with one another and with something larger than ourselves.It also follows her recent essay, Creating the Conditions for Love to Flourish Through Nature & Creativity, in which she reflected on the importance of creating the conditions in which people, and particularly children, can flourish.Drawing on her experiences in Italy, she explored how healthy development is shaped through relationships with people and places, and how nature provides one of the most inspiring environments for children to explore, connect and grow.The Centre’s Shaping Us Framework and Foundations for Life Guide provide the evidence-based science underpinning this work, highlighting the importance of the social and emotional skills that shape who we are, how we manage our emotions and thoughts, how we communicate and relate to others, and how we explore the world.