Kate Middleton makes a poignant statement about ‘breaking the cycle’ of childhood trauma

Kate Middleton has made a moving statement on childhood trauma, urging people to “break the cycle” for the sake of future generations. 

• Kate Middleton has made a moving statement on “breaking the cycle” of childhood trauma, following the launch of her latest project. 
• The Duchess of Cambridge announced the establishment of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood today, a charity that focuses on children under the age of five. 
• In other royal news, Mike Tindall's surprise throwback photo has shocked fans for this reason.
  

Kate Middleton's “early years” foundation launched this morning with a powerful statement from the Duchess of Cambridge herself on childhood trauma. 

The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood aims to promote investment in children during their first five years of life, the developmental stage that sets the foundation for their long-term wellbeing. Kate was inspired to pursue the project after speaking with neuroscientists and psychiatrists, as well as academics, practitioners and parents, all of whom highlighted the importance of getting a head start when it comes to mental health. 

In a personal message published on the charity's website, the Duchess shared some words of encouragement about the organisation’s mission.  

“Even if we ourselves didn’t get the best start in life we can still break the cycle and develop the skills needed to raise the next generation better,” she wrote. 

Kate’s statement comes just one month after Prince Harry accused Prince Charles of inflicting “genetic pain and suffering” on him during a candid interview in the U.S. Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast, the Duke of Sussex told host Dax Shepard he was determined to protect his children from the mental afflictions he experienced in his own youth. 

“It’s a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway so we as parents should be doing the most we can to try and say: ‘You know what, that happened to me, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen to you,‘” he said. 

Prince Harry, whose relationship with the Royal Family has been frosty ever since he and Meghan Markle announced their withdrawal as senior royals last year, also admitted that his own mental health issues can be attributed to his difficult upbringing. 

“I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly when it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on, basically."

The Duke's remarks drew widespread backlash from the public, with many royal fans criticizing him for speaking poorly of his father. The podcast, which was released just a week before Oprah and Harry's The Me You Can't See documentary series on mental health, resulted in Prince Harry facing heartbreaking pressure to distance himself further from Royal Family. A petition was launched at the end of May to ask Harry to give up his titles altogether and to become a private citizen. The appeal was created by Lady Colin Campbell, who has published seven books about the Royal Family. It has currently been signed by over 68,500 people.