The Princess of Wales enjoyed a morning outdoors as she joined recovering drug and alcohol addicts for a gardening session in Essex for Addiction Awareness Week today.
Green-fingered Kate, 44, whose passion for nature is well-known, declined the offer of gloves as she helped pot plants at Garon Park during a visit to The Forward Trust in Southend-on-Sea.
Wearing a smart grey checked Max Mara blazer that she first debuted on a visit to RAF Coningsby with Prince George earlier this year, the Princess was asked if she does much gardening at home, to which she replied: ‘A little bit.’
In a sweet nod to Prince William, the double-breasted jacket featured the ‘Prince of Wales’ check, and Kate completed the look with a brown sweater, slim-fit black trousers and loafers.
Kate was clearly missing her husband during today’s outing as she brought him up in conversation with Dr Liam King, assistant manager at Garon Park, who told her he had studied ecology and farming ‘buffer zones’ to help combat climate change.
‘I should have my husband here. He knows more about that,’ the royal replied, hinting at the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize that recognises contributions to solving the climate crisis.
Kate joined The Forward Trust to learn more about its latest nature-based community initiative, Forward Growing, which encourages those who use the non-profit’s recovery and treatment services to engage with the natural world through weekly gardening sessions.
The Princess, who has been a patron of the charity since 2021, has previously shared how she found comfort and strength from being in nature during her cancer treatment.
She celebrated its ‘healing power’ in her Mother Nature series of short films that were released last year and narrated by Kate, who 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 pot plants at a drug and alcohol support charity in Essex today
Forward Growing provides weekly gardening classes at Garon Park’s cricket ground, which also has a nature trail, and promotes the idea that time spent in nature can boost recovery.
Dr King told Kate that volunteers from the scheme are brought to the area once a week by minibus to take part in gardening schemes.
Pointing to a sign that said ‘bee hive’, Kate, a keen bee-keeper asked if they had hives. Dr King explained that it was a beehive experience, where you can enter and experience what it was like to be a bee.
‘It sounds right up my street!’ the future Queen quipped.
Later, sitting at picnic benches, Kate heard from some of the moving stories of people who had been helped by the scheme.
Steph Sampson, 45, told the princess that her daughter Mia, 21, had written her a five-page letter begging her to stop drinking, which she read in rehab.
Sampson has now been sober for six-and-a-half months and told Kate she got ‘goosebumps’ when her daughter told her how proud she was in a birthday card in August.
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 told her: ‘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 sweet moment with a member of the public during today’s 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.’
