NB:
This may not be a word-for-word transcript.
Keynote Speech by The Princess of Wales at Shaping Us National Symposium
The Design Museum, London
15 November 2023
Good morning, everyone. And thank you, Christian, and everyone, for being here today.
People often ask me why I focus my time on early childhood. The answer is because I care deeply about making a positive difference in helping the most vulnerable and supporting those who are most in need. This is not just about the youngest children in our society, who are, by their very nature, vulnerable. It is also about the many young people and adults who are suffering. We must do more than simply meet the short-term needs of these individuals. We must also look at creating long term, preventative change. And that takes us right back to the beginning.
When I have asked many individuals, whose lives have reached crisis point; in prison rehabilitation programmes, addiction recovery centres, or those affected by homelessness; what would make the biggest difference in preventing similar pathways for future generations, they often talk about providing safety, belonging and love in early childhood. It is human nature to strive for these things. We feel this innately and instinctively. But for too many of us, at too many times in our lives, these basic human needs go unanswered. There is a disconnect. Somehow these deep-rooted needs aren’t always met by the societies we are creating, and the effects are evident all around us – with poor mental health, anxiety, depression, abuse, and addiction all too common.
It isn’t enough therefore to simply wish for a better world. We must acknowledge and address the root cause of some of today’s toughest social challenges and work together to find better answers. Because ultimately, we are all part of a delicate, interconnected ecosystem and just as we need to restore, protect and invest in our planet, so we must restore, protect, and invest in our societies, communities, relationships, and ourselves. “Prison was the best thing that happened to me”, was what one prisoner told me on a recent visit. “I thought how I was living my life was normal, but it allowed me time to stop, not just being busy and keeping up with what I was expected to be doing, it allowed me time to be with ‘me’ and consider my needs, my mind. I had never had a chance to do that before. I just didn’t know I needed help”, he told me.
For many individuals like this, trauma, stress, and adverse experiences in their childhood, has caused fundamental harm that they have carried for years. Our psychological capabilities, however, are not fixed. They continue to grow and therapeutic interventions can help with the healing process, providing the support and crucially the skills needed to cope on the journey to recovery. Interventions like this help us to understand ourselves better, and be more compassionate to our own needs. It helps us to understand our own behaviours and how they are a complex interplay of our thoughts and emotions, and helps us to communicate and express ourselves in order to build relationships with others and the world around us. These social and emotional skills are ultimately the foundations of any happy, healthy life, so why does it so often take individuals to reach breaking point, rock bottom or even a prison sentence to finally find the support they so desperately need?
