Princess of Wales receives the ‘Primo Tricolore’

The Princess of Wales has been awarded Reggio Emilia’s highest honour. 

Before departing the Piazza Camillo Prampolini yesterday, the Princess of Wales visited the ‘Sala del Tricolore’. The birthplace of the modern Italian flag, from 1797, sits within the Town Hall and remains the seat of the City Council and of the city’s main institutional ceremonies.

There, the Princess was presented with the ‘Primo Tricolore’ — the city’s highest honour — in recognition of Her Royal Highness’s early years work. The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood was established in 2021 by the Princess, while the Shaping Us Campaign was launched in January 2023 to raise awareness of the critical importance of the first five years of life. The initiative around early years has been described as Catherine’s ‘life’s work’.

The ‘Primo Tricolore’ is awarded to individuals or organisations whose work has had a significant civic, cultural, scientific or democratic impact, often at an international level, according to Kensington Palace.

The Mayor of Reggio Emilia said that the Princess’s visit is “undoubtedly a mark of recognition for our education system and for our city.” Going on to speak of the “honour” to have the opportunity to explain “the origins and practice of our educational approach, confirming that investing resources and expertise in education and early childhood continues to attract attention and receive unanimous appreciation.”

“Considering early childhood education as the foundation of society is a defining feature of our community, the result of political and administrative decisions implemented since the post-war period, which, drawing on the distinctive traditions of our city, have created a high-quality public service recognised throughout the world,” Mayor Marco Massari continued.

The Princess’s visit to Northern Italy focuses on Reggio Emilia’s internationally recognised approach to early childhood education, which places relationships, environment and community at the centre of a child’s development.