Kate Middleton Chats With University Of Derby Students About The Impact Of COVID-19

Kate Middleton is learning about the effects of COVID-19 on citizens first hand.

The Duchess of Cambridge travelled to the University of Derby, which is located in the English Midlands, on Tuesday to chat with students whose education has been affected by the ongoing pandemic.

While sporting a face mask, Middleton met with first-year, nursing and sports societies students.

View this post on Instagram

Ahead of #WorldMentalHealthDay this Saturday, The Duchess of Cambridge visited students at @DerbyUni to hear how initiatives including peer mentoring are supporting students’ mental health during the pandemic. @studentmindsorg, the UK’s student mental health charity, say that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges facing student mental health, in addition to creating new ones. Even before the onset of COVID-19, both the severity and prevalence of common mental health conditions experienced by young adults was on the increase. However, like the sports societies and nursing students here at Derby, universities are continuing to explore new ways to support their wellbeing. Students across England and Wales now have access to trusted support through the coronavirus pandemic via @studentmindsorg Student Space, a programme that helps students to find support that is available locally at their university, in addition to providing online resources and direct support by phone and text. The 24/7 text support available via Student Space 📱 is delivered in partnership with @GiveUsAShoutInsta, a legacy initiative from the Heads Together campaign and was incubated by The Royal Foundation ahead of its launch in 2019.

A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@kensingtonroyal) on Oct 6, 2020 at 9:27am PDT

The royal checked in on their mental health, learned about the university’s “buddied” up program and the training for their sports societies program that teaches students to support their teammates.

Middleton kept things stylish, as always, during her visit wearing her signature Amaia floral masks, pale blue sweater, dark blue dress pants and an oversized jacket. She polished off the look with a gold necklace from All The Falling Stars that features her children’s initials.

The socially distant meet-and-greet comes just days ahead of World Mental Health Day Oct. 10.