Catherine, Princess of Wales Issues Powerful Call for “Dignity for Carers” in First Speech in Two Years
In a significant milestone for both her personal recovery and her public role, the Princess of Wales delivered her first in-person speech in two years — and the first since announcing her cancer diagnosis in March 2024. Speaking at the Future Workforce Summit in London, she addressed more than 80 senior business leaders and urged the corporate world to raise the status of caring, value tenderness, and rethink how success is defined.
A Speech Marking Return and Resolve
The Princess opened the summit amid great attention: her return to live public speaking comes after a period of significant personal health challenge, during which she opted to step back from many duties. In her address, she acknowledged the support of her team and emphasised how the work of her The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood and the Business Taskforce for Early Childhood remains a priority.
Key Themes: Dignity, Tenderness and The Early Years
At the heart of her remarks were several inter-linked themes:
A call to businesses to see caring responsibility not as a drag on success, but as compatible with — and beneficial to — longer-term prosperity.
“As business leaders you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not, and should not be incompatible.”
The need for businesses to value time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.
“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.”
The role of early emotional nurturing in shaping adult resilience and societal wellbeing.
“The love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults.”
The importance of recognizing carers and the value of “quiet, often invisible work of caring, of loving well.”
“I believe in restoring the dignity to the quiet, often invisible work of caring, of loving well, as we look to build a happier, healthier society.”
Business Engagement & Institutional Impact
The summit — attended by major corporate names including Aviva, NatWest Group, IKEA, The Lego Group and Deloitte — formed part of the Business Taskforce for Early Childhood initiative launched by the Princess in March 2023. Among the expert speakers was Sir Gareth Southgate, the former England football manager, who described how childhood environment shapes resilience and ability to trust — reinforcing the Princess’s message about early years.
The Princess stayed on afterwards to listen to discussions and mingled with business delegates, signalling that her return to live engagements is both meaningful and fully operational.
You can view the speech in full below:
