I remember hearing a few months ago that the Duchess of Cambridge was keen for the lockdown to be over because she really wanted to refocus on her Early Years initiative. It was funny because she dropped Early Years like a hot potato as soon as she had an excuse to lounge around and do a few Zoom calls a week. It was also funny because if she actually *wanted* to do some work with offering support and help to parents with young children, the lockdown would have been the perfect time for it, with so many parents home and dealing with their kids 24-7.

Anyway, now that lockdowns are being lifted around the UK, Kate actually *did* do something around early childhood development. She’s endorsing the BBC’s Tiny Happy People platform, which offers resources, advice and support to parents of kids under the age of 4. You can see the Tiny Happy People platform here, and yes, I do have REM’s “Shiny Happy People” stuck in my head. Kensington Palace’s announcement included this:

The Duchess of Cambridge has been involved with #TinyHappyPeople for a number of months, having visited the Tiny Happy People team last November to take part in development sessions and to learn more about the production process Building construction

Last week The Duchess of Cambridge met families involved in the creation and piloting of #TinyHappyPeople — and spoke with them about the ways in which they have used the resources, and how they have seen their children’s language and communication develop as a result.

Recognising the significance of the project to supporting parents as they guide their children through the earliest years of life, The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will collaborate with the BBC as they continue to develop and roll out #TinyHappyPeople.

[From KensingtonRoyal Twitter]

*shrug* It actually sounds like a good thing and a good platform and like it will actually help parents of young children. Which is how you know that Kate had very little to do with it! She would never spearhead something so substantive and helpful. What she’s doing is merely endorsing a program which had already been in the works, and had already been organized and achieved by other people. But now it’s Kate’s thing and I expect we’ll see a lot of People Magazine cover stories and Vanity Fair exclusives about how Kate did this all by herself because she’s truly so keen.

Fashion notes: Kate’s polka-dotted dress is Emilia Wickstead, and it retails for £1,500. I feel like we’ve seen her in like 20 new dresses during the pandemic?

Kate’s got a prerecorded interview on the BBC this morning. She actually seems quite jazzed about this but her accent could cut glass.

Tune in to @BBCBreakfast 📺 on the morning of Tuesday 14th July to see more from The Duchess of Cambridge and #TinyHappyPeople! pic.twitter.com/B6yg3YnIWP

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 13, 2020

Last week The Duchess of Cambridge met families involved in the creation and piloting of #TinyHappyPeople — and spoke with them about the ways in which they have used the resources, and how they have seen their children’s language and communication develop as a result. pic.twitter.com/hESOwvMPWe

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 13, 2020