The Princess of Wales spent the morning outdoors in Essex, joining people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction for a gardening session during Addiction Awareness Week.
Kate, 44, is well known for her love of nature and eagerly got involved at Garon Park, declining gloves as she helped pot plants during her visit to The Forward Trust in Southend-on-Sea.
The Princess wore a smart grey checked Max Mara blazer, first seen during a visit to RAF Coningsby with Prince George earlier this year. When asked whether she does much gardening at home, she replied: ‘A little bit.’
In a subtle tribute to Prince William, the double-breasted jacket featured the distinctive ‘Prince of Wales’ check. Kate paired it with a brown sweater, slim-fit black trousers and loafers.
The Princess also mentioned her husband while speaking to Dr Liam King, assistant manager at Garon Park. He told her about his studies in ecology and the use of farming ‘buffer zones’ to help tackle climate change.
‘I should have my husband here. He knows more about that,’ Kate said, appearing to refer to the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize, which celebrates efforts to address the climate crisis.
Kate visited The Forward Trust to find out more about Forward Growing, its nature-based community programme. The initiative encourages people using the charity’s recovery and treatment services to connect with the natural world through weekly gardening sessions.
The Princess has been a patron of The Forward Trust since 2021 and has previously spoken about the comfort and strength she found in nature during her cancer treatment.
She highlighted nature’s ‘healing power’ in her Mother Nature series of short films, released last year and narrated by Kate. In them, she said: ‘The natural world’s capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations.’
The Princess of Wales helped participants pot plants at the drug and alcohol support charity in Essex
Forward Growing runs weekly gardening classes at the cricket ground at Garon Park, which also features a nature trail. The programme promotes the idea that spending time outdoors can support the recovery process.
Dr King explained to Kate that volunteers involved in the scheme travel to the site by minibus once a week to take part in gardening activities.
Kate, who keeps bees, noticed a sign marked ‘bee hive’ and asked whether the site had hives. Dr King explained that it referred to a beehive experience, allowing visitors to step inside and discover what it feels like to be a bee.
‘It sounds right up my street!’ the future Queen joked.
Later, at picnic benches, Kate listened as several participants shared deeply personal accounts of how the programme had helped them.
Steph Sampson, 45, told the Princess that her 21-year-old daughter, Mia, wrote her a five-page letter pleading with her to stop drinking. Sampson read it while in rehab.
Sampson has now been sober for six-and-a-half months. She told Kate she got ‘goosebumps’ when Mia wrote in a birthday card in August to say how proud she was of her mother.
Sampson said: ‘Being in rehab and learning that it was an illness was a massive turning point. I could explain that to my children and my mum.’
Kate replied: ‘It’s such a powerful message for others. Well done. It’s a shame your family isn’t here. They must be super proud.’
Kate shared a warm moment with a member of the public during the royal engagement
The Princess has been a patron of The Forward Trust since 2021
The future Queen swapped red carpet couture for a more casual ensemble today, opting to wear the grey checked Max Mara blazer she debuted during a visit to RAF Coningsby with Prince George earlier this year
The Princess has previously shared how she found comfort and strength from being in nature during her cancer treatment
Kate listened intently as she learnt about The Forward Trust’s new nature-based initiative
Kate’s double-breasted jacket features the ‘Prince of Wales’ check in a sweet nod to her husband
The future Queen greeting members of the public and staff at The Forward Trust
Kate’s visit was in support of ‘The Big Addiction Conversation’ to highlight recovery is possible
The scheme, which was launched in spring, is building towards the creation of a dedicated gardening area within the park. Vegetables from the area go back towards the Forward Trust site in Southend where recovering addicts learn how to prepare and cook the produce.
Kate, who launched the first Addiction Awareness Week in 2021 on behalf of the trust, penned a heartfelt message last year, urging ‘compassion and love’ to those dependent on drugs, alcohol or gambling.
She wrote: ‘Recovery is hard, but with the right treatment it is possible. And this begins with a conversation, a listening ear and showing we care.
‘So please join the conversation. By talking about it in the open, together we can bring addiction and the harm it causes out of the shadows.’
She added: ‘We can reframe this issue with kindness and understanding, and we can help individuals and families coping with addiction know they are not alone.’
Today’s engagement comes during Addiction Awareness Week, which runs from September 19 to 25. This year, the campaign is calling on the UK to make its voice heard through ‘The Big Addiction Conversation’.
Every year, around 17,000 people die from alcohol or drug-related causes, and the Big Addiction Conversation wants to spark compassionate and honest communication about the stigma attached to addiction.
At the end of her visit, Kate was shown packs of cards with ice-breaker questions to prompt conversation and raise awareness.
One read: ‘How many children in the UK live with a parent struggling with drug addiction? A: 50,000-100,000 B: 150,000-200,000 C: 250,000-400,000 (answer: C)’
Kate said: ‘There are so many ways to connect to the community here – through sport, through nature, through other people.’
Lisa Bryer, the filmmaker behind The Last King of Scotland and trustee of Forward Trust, said that she had been clean and sober for 44 years after her well-documented battle with heroin.
She met the princess and said afterwards: ‘We are so lucky to have the princess as our patron. She’s incredible.’
Speaking about the schemes run through the Forward Trust, she said: ‘It works. It’s extraordinary but it’s building the structure and taking away the stigma of addiction.’
