Kate Middleton Offers Support to Ukrainian Refugees on Outing Near Her Windsor Home

Kate Middleton supports Ukrainian refugees.

Princess Kate spent Wednesday morning visiting a group that has spent the past year helping those who have fled the conflict in Ukraine and made their way to the UK – as well as those who stayed behind.

Kate visited the Vsi Razom Community Center in the Lexicon Shopping Center in Bracknell – about 10 miles from the Princess’ home in Windsor – where she helped pack food and clothing parcels with young Ukrainians who arrived in the UK last year.

The packages will be returned to Ukraine and distributed to families directly affected by the war that began with the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Kate Middleton arrives in Bracknell, England.

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Kate also joined an arts and crafts session with local children, where she spent some time talking to volunteers about the different services the center provides to help displaced Ukrainians get support, advice and build friendships locally.

The Princess of Wales also met the Hub’s psychologist who visits once a week those adjusting to life in their new home to support mental health.

It is the latest in a series of events that Kate and her husband, Prince William, have undertaken to show their solidarity with Ukraine. In September 2022, Kate held a special audience with First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska at Buckingham Palace, who traveled to the United Kingdom to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Kate Middleton talks to a girl in Bracknell, England.

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She and William also made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian Cultural Center in London in March 2022 to hear about the efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. They met with members of the Ukrainian community and volunteers to learn more about the services offered by the center, as well as the challenges the community continues to face.

The couple’s Royal Foundation also convened a virtual roundtable conference to discuss how best to support the First Lady of Ukraine’s mental health strategy, which addresses the impact the ongoing conflict is having on the mental well-being of Ukrainians.

Kate Middelton in Bracknell, England.

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Then, in March, William headed to Poland to thank the armed forces on the war-torn country’s border. While there, he met a group of young Ukrainians at a restaurant in the Polish capital, Warsaw. One of them was Elizaveta Tupotina (21), who comes from the eastern region of Donetsk, but was studying in Kiev when the Russians invaded.

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“I really enjoyed it. It had the feel of a regular person,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “Communication, it was like with friends.”

Kate Middleton in Bracknell, England.

Chris Jackson/Getty

She said it must have been “hard to hear some of the stories from the other girls”, but William had an easygoing, smiling way that put people at ease. “He asked where my parents were and about my studies – he was very open and asked us questions so there was no need to be embarrassed and think he was the future king.”

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“The message I received from him was that the UK was supporting Ukraine – he kept repeating that nothing had changed in that aid,” she continued. “This is a really famous person who wants to show that he gets closer to ordinary people and hears directly from them personally, not from politics or through the media. It was not difficult to settle here because there are a lot of Ukrainians and Poles, the people are very helpful.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education