The Duchess of Cambridge is advancing her decade-long work into early childhood research and advocacy with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The Centre will act as a a hub within the Cambridges’ larger charitable work to focus on raising awareness and promoting continued research into the impact of the early years.

In a video message shared on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Instagram Friday, Kate Middleton explained why this project is so important to her.

"My own journey into understanding the importance of early childhood actually started with adults, and not with children," she explained. "It was about prevention. I wanted to understand what more we could do to help prevent some of today's toughest social challenges, and what more we could do to help with the rising rates of poor mental health. I spoken to psychiatrists to neuroscientists to practitioners and academics and parents alike, and what has become clear is that the best investment for our future health and happiness is in the first five years of life. And that is why, today, I am launching the royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood working closely with others. The Center hopes to raise awareness of why the first five years of life are just so important for our future life outcomes, and what we can do as a society to embrace this golden opportunity to create a happier or mentally healthy, more nurturing society. By working together, my hope is that we can change the way we think about early childhood and transform lives for generations to come. Because I truly believe, big change starts small."

In a statement shared with BAZAAR.com, Kensington Palace said the project aims "to transform society for generations to come."

Kayleigh Roberts is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, covering celebrity and entertainment news, from actual royals like Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to Hollywood royalty, like Katie Holmes and Chrissy Teigen. She’s a Ravenclaw who would do great things in Slytherin. To learn more about her, google “Leslie Knope eating salad GIF.

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