Princess of Wales rewears £62 gold hoop earrings in images shared to launch her early years campaign

The Princess of Wales showed off her thrifty side when it comes to fashion, rewearing a £62 pair of earrings in photographs shared to launch her new early years initiative.

Kate Middleton, 41, selected the 18k gold plated Alia hoops crafted by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones for her brand Spells of Love as she set out her plan for ‘Shaping Us’, an ambitious long-term project in which she urges the nation to pull together to improve lives.

Photographs shared by the royal showcase the affordable jewellery, which she was snapped wearing during a 2020 visit to Wales, as she and Prince William, 40, made a series of visits in the country.  

Alongside the recycled earrings, Kate donned a green pussy bow tie neck blouse, and black trousers. The images, which were taken at St John’s Church of England School, a primary school in east London, also show the royal showcasing her trademark dark locks in a loose, wavy style.

Photos launching the awareness-raising campaign show the Princess of Wales (pictured) wearing £62 gold hoop earrings by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones

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The brand is described online as crafting pieces with a mix of ‘bohemian feminine influence’ and ‘trend-led modern aesthetic’, with a focus on ‘ethical production’. 

And the hoops are described online as ‘best selling’ and are sent to customers in a ‘100 per cent plastic free and biodegradable bag.’ 

The campaign, which the princess outlined in a letter to the Mail On Sunday, aims to raise awareness of children’s development before their fifth birthday. 

In an open letter, Kate set out her plan for ‘Shaping Us’. She wrote the impassioned plea on her laptop as she was preparing for today’s campaign launch – to be followed by a week-long publicity blitz in which she will be joined by celebrities and influencers from the worlds of music, media and sport.

The 18k gold plated Alia hoops (pictured) were crafted by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones for her brand Spells of Love

Images shared to launch the initiative show the royal speaking with children during a visit to a primary school in east London

The campaign will include both eye-catching videos and social media messages. A spokesperson for the Princess described it as ‘her life’s work’.

Kate gave a sneak preview of the Shaping Us campaign last night with a short video on social media.

In the 50-second film, her hands are seen opening a photograph album with a blank cover. Inside, next to a picture of an adult man she writes the question: ‘What shapes us?’ On other pages we see photos of families, an ultrasound scan and a pregnant woman.  

Princess Kate posted a video to Twitter teasing the campaign launch after she met her team of advisers on the subject for the first time earlier this week

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When Kate removes a picture of a little girl from the album, it reveals the words: ‘Our early childhood shapes the adults we become.’

It is the start of what Kensington Palace is hoping will be a huge multi-media push to raise awareness of how our early years mould our lives.

The campaign is a bold, more public direction for the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, set up by the Princess, then Duchess of Cambridge, in June 2021.

Kate (pictured with Prince William) was previously snapped wearing the earrings during a 2020 visit to Wales (pictured)

Reports produced by the centre have revealed that the first five years shape future wellbeing more than any other stage of development, with our brains growing faster than at any other time. However, many people remain unaware of this fact.  

Now the centre is taking its work to the wider public. It also hopes to ‘break the cycle’ for parents who experienced difficult childhoods themselves.

Palace aides say the idea for the project began even before Kate became a mother.

The Princess explains in today’s letter that ‘as a society, we currently spend much more of our time and energy on later life.

‘I am absolutely determined that this long-term campaign is going to change that.’