Princess of Wales: what Prince Louis’s ‘feelings wheel’ taught me about mental health

The Princess of Wales has revealed that Prince Louis helped create a “feelings wheel” in class, proving that schools want to engage in conversations about mental health.

The mother of three made the comments as she unveiled the results of a study on early childhood and delivered a speech at a symposium organised by her Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood in central London.

As she unveiled the results of the international study involving 110 experts from 21 countries, she said that nurturing social and emotional skills was “just as valuable to our long-term success as reading, writing or arithmetic”.

The Princess warned that “new thinking and action” was needed at every level as she called on society to prioritise the “inner worlds” of children.

On arrival at the Design Museum for the event, she chatted to host Fearne Cotton about her work and the involvement of her five-year-old son.

“Louis’s class, they came back with a feelings wheel,” she said.

“It’s really good, they go to the classroom - these are five or six year olds - and go in with names or pictures of a colour that represents how they feel that day.”

The Princess said it showed there was a “real keenness” for schools to get involved in conversations about mental health, which she said was “very important.”

As she addressed an auditorium packed with influential figures from scientists to academics and philanthropists, she warned that “new thinking and action” was needed at every level to strengthen emotional development in both children and adults.

The Princess, wearing a purple Emilia Wickstead suit, said the findings of her study were “really quite exciting” and had identified “untapped potential” to bring the worlds of childhood and adulthood together.

“Nurturing skills that enable us to know ourselves, manage our emotions, focus our thoughts, communicate with others, foster positive relationships, and explore the world are just as valuable to our long-term success as reading, writing or arithmetic,” she said.

Kensington Palace said the study marked the first time the Princess had used her global convening power - a clear sign that she wanted its findings to form the basis of an international movement.

“This is the next level,” a spokesman said. “This is the blueprint for how she will think about the future of her work.

“We are not here to lobby policy but to set out a global framework that the early childhood sector can use. We know there are levers we can pull but policy isn’t one of them.”

Christian Guy, director of the centre, said of her speech: “It’s almost a manifesto for social and emotional skills.”

The Princess said: “This is not just about the youngest children in our society, who are, by their very nature, vulnerable.

“It is also about the many young people and adults who are suffering.

“We must do more than simply meet the short-term needs of these individuals. We must also look at creating long-term, preventative change.”

The Princess said that social and emotional skills were the foundations of any happy, healthy life, asking: “So why does it so often take individuals to reach breaking point, rock bottom or even a prison sentence to finally find the support they so desperately need?

“Because surely if we really are talking about prevention and meeting our deep-rooted needs, our social and emotional knowledge and capabilities are vital to us all.

“They need to be prioritised, normalised, and nurtured if we are to build resilience for the future – especially when we consider the demands and the toll our ever-complex world takes on us as human beings.”

The study conducted by the Royal Foundation was described as “a first of its kind global listening exercise” by bringing together international experts to combine global knowledge and expertise.

The group drew up a set of key social and emotional skills that develop in childhood but continue to be refined in adulthood.

They are focused on self-awareness, managing emotions, focusing thoughts, communication, nurturing relationships, and exploring the world.