KATE'S CALL FOR KINDNESS

With a focus on family life, the Princess of Wales makes a heartfelt speech to business leaders ahead of a fun-filled evening at the Royal Variety Performance

- MITYA UNDERWOOD

In what was a whirlwind week for the Princess of Wales, she delivered a passionate plea on behalf of all parents and made a dazzling return to the red carpet for one of the biggest royal events of the year.

Ahead of her glamorous night out with Prince William at the Royal Variety Performance, she issued a rallying call to some of the country's most influential business leaders to support, encourage and enable workers - especially those with young children - to have healthy home lives.

The princess was speaking at the Future Workforce Summit, hosted by her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, and it was her first major public speech since her cancer diagnosis.

At the event at Salesforce Tower in London, Kate, 43, spoke passionately of “valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success”, and how profitability and “having a positive impact” on employees’ lives were not, and should not be, “incompatible”.

“Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community,” she said. “These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave. Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.”

BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively tells OK! that Kate’s words were particularly impactful and came from a deeply personal place. “I admire Catherine for practising what she preaches,” Jennie says. “I’m sure she fully understands the pressures that exist for many working parents, and means every word she says.