The Princess of Wales has embarked on her first major royal tour in more than three years, arriving in Italy to learn about an innovative approach to early years teaching for children for her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.Kate was welcomed to Reggio Emilia by the mayor, Marco Massari, as hundreds of locals watched on in the city’s Piazza Prampolini, where they offered a rapturous reception to the princess outside the town hall.A few held Union flags, some watched from balconies and others cheered when she stepped from her car wearing a trouser suit and waved to the crowds.Before going into the town hall, Kate crouched down to talk to nursery-age children gathered near the entrance, and also spent a few minutes chatting with the mayor.Kate arrives in Reggio Emilia (PA)On the town hall steps, Kate again spoke to the mayor and turned to wave to the crowds, who responded with cheers and waved back.The two-day visit to Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, is the beginning of a “really significant moment” after her cancer recovery, an aide said, with Kate “taking it up a gear” in her “global mission”.The future queen will take her early years crusade around the world to start a conversation about the issue, the aide added.Early years has been central to her public work for more than a decade, and the visit comes after Kate last week launched a new resource for people working with youngsters and their families, from her foundation.The princess chats with youngsters at the town hall (PA)Kate’s last official overseas visit occurred in December 2022, when she accompanied the Prince of Wales to Boston, in the US, for the Earthshot Prize awards.While she also made brief trips to Marseille, France, for the Rugby World Cup in autumn 2023, and attended the Crown Prince of Jordan’s wedding in Amman in June 2023, these were not classified by her royal household as official foreign tours.During her European stay, Kate will learn more about the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy that focuses on the idea that children have the potential for self-development.She will also highlight the importance of nurturing environments and loving relationships to a child’s development.The visit attracted hundreds of people to the city’s main square (PA)The centre was founded by Kate in 2021 to raise awareness of the importance of early years experiences in shaping society over the long term, and to commission research.Kate was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer early in 2024, for which she underwent chemotherapy, and she announced she was in remission 16 months ago in January 2025.She has gradually returned to royal duties, including supporting the King at state visits to the UK. In April, she joined the royal family to mark the 100th anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s birth, and made a solo appearance at the Cenotaph on Anzac Day.The Waleses’ last major, lengthy tour together was their controversial trip to the Caribbean in March 2022 to celebrate the platinum jubilee, before they spent three days in Boston in December 2022.