Kate Middleton Pens Personal Message for Baby Loss Awareness Week: 'Love, Strength and Hope to Anyone Affected'
The Princess of Wales posted a photo of a glowing candle for the Wave of Light campaign
Kate Middleton issued a new message to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
On Oct. 15, the Princess of Wales, 42, sent words of support on social media to those navigating the loss of a child. Baby Loss Awareness Week is observed in the U.K. from Oct. 9 to Oct. 15, and Princess Kate referenced the "wave of light" happening tonight.
"Baby Loss Awareness Week is such an important moment to support those who have experienced the devastation of baby loss," Princess Kate wrote on the X account she shares with Prince William.
"Sending love, strength and hope to anyone affected," she continued, adding the hashtag "#WaveofLight."
Baby Loss Awareness Week is such an important moment to support those who have experienced the devastation of baby loss.
Sending love, strength and hope to anyone affected. #WaveofLight
C pic.twitter.com/UMc3SEaYX9— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 15, 2024
The Princess of Wales signed the post "C," shorthand for her first name, Catherine, and to signal that the message came directly from her, instead of someone on her communications team.
Baby Loss Awareness Week began as Baby Loss Awareness Day in the U.K. in 2002, started by a group of parents inspired by Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day on Oct. 15 in the U.S., according to its website. Today, Baby Loss Awareness Week and its alliance of the same name work to support bereaved parents and families, raise awareness about pregnancy and baby loss and accelerate care for anyone affected and the prevention of future pregnancy and baby loss.
Princess Kate's message came with a photo of a glowing candle from British brand Plum & Ashby. The jar was stamped with a Wave of Light label connecting to the hashtag that closed her post. Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates in a global "Wave of Light," where people are invited to light a candle at 7 p.m. local time and burn it for at least an hour to remember the babies who were lost too soon.
Related: Kate Middleton Was 'Moved' and 'Empathetic' to Parents Who Suffered Baby Loss During Emotional Visit
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The Princess of Wales has focused much of her royal work on babies, children and mothers. She previously stepped out during Baby Loss Awareness Week in 2020 to visit the Institute of Reproductive and Development Biology at Imperial College London to hear about research into the loss of babies in pregnancy and premature births.
Princess Kate and Prince William are parents to Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and have previously sent words of support on social media to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Like many families around the world, the royal family has been affected by baby loss. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh suffered an ectopic pregnancy in 2001. Zara Tindall shared in 2018 that she had a second miscarriage before her second child, daughter Lena, was born, and Meghan Markle revealed in November 2020 that she had a miscarriage that summer, about a year after her son, Prince Archie, was born.
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