Kate Middleton Urges the Public to "Reconnect With Nature" in New Vanity Fair Statement

After a high profile appearance at Wimbledon last weekend, Kate Middleton is officially on summer break and likely won’t make any further public appearances until later this year. But the princess is still finding ways to support the charities that call her patron through her online presence. On Thursday, she shared an Instagram message in support of two new gardens that have opened at the Natural History Museum, along with photos from a June 2021 visit to the museum’s educational programs where she brought honey from her beehive in Anmer Hall.

“I am hugely supportive of the Museum’s commitment to create a special space which encourages people of all ages to reconnect with nature and learn more about how we can protect our natural world,” she said on a Stories post to the account she shares with her husband, Prince William.

In a second post, she mentioned that the museum’s programs are a part of her broader work on child development.“I know the power of nature to support our development and well-being, both by bringing us joy and helping to keep us physically, mentally and spiritually healthy,” she wrote. “I hope these gardens will be inspiring and transformative for the thousands of people who visit.”

Kate has been a patron of the museum on London’s Exhibition Row since 2013. Though the princess has been away from her official royal duties since the beginning of the year, due to abdominal surgery and a subsequent cancer diagnosis, she has been getting briefings on the continuing work her of charitable projects. Her official return to royal duties will come after she is cleared by her medical team, her spokesperson told the BBC in May, and “early childhood will continue to be central to her public work.”