Pregnant Kate Middleton looks blooming in mint at London event

Pregnant Kate Middleton looks blooming in mint at London event

She's weeks away from having her third child, but there's no rest for the Duchess of Cambridge as she continues her busy schedule of royal engagements ahead of the birth.

Pregnant Kate, 36, is this morning attending a symposium at the Royal Society of Medicine in London of leading academics and charities championing early intervention into the lives of children.

The mother-to-be looked radiant in a bespoke green coat dress with a bow detail at the collar by Jenny Packham, worn over a mint dress, teamed with her favourite blush suede heels.  

And she looked as if she'd taken inspiration from the Queen who wore a remarkably similar ensemble to watch polo at Windsor in 1973.

Today's meeting is thought to be Kate's penultimate engagement before she commences her maternity leave and comes after Prince William's confirmation that she's due to give birth 'any minute now'. 

According to Hello! magazine, the Duke of Cambridge made the revelation that the new royal baby will be here sooner rather than later, while knighting Ringo Starr yesterday. 

Despite the impending birth, Kate has had her busiest start to the year yet and if William's admission is anything to go by, it seems that she's determined to keep working as close to her due date as possible. 

The royal used today's engagement to call for teenagers to be taught parenting and relationship skills to avoid the danger of their future children developing mental health problems in later life.

In a speech on the benefits of early intervention in supporting children's mental wellbeing she said it was important to get the next generation of parents 'child-ready' even before they have children

Kate was speaking at a symposium of academics, professionals and charities organised by the Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of William, Kate and Harry's public work.

The royal also announced she was setting up a steering group to explore how to help experts provide children with the best start in life.

It will look at how to create a partnership between experts and organisations examining issues around as perinatal, maternal and infant mental health. The steering group will also look at how to improve the support for children, parents and teachers.

Aides say it will report back to the duchess later this year and it is hoped the Royal Foundation will announce a strategy in late autumn or early next year.

In her speech at the Royal Society of Medicine, the duchess said she believes society 'cannot intervene early enough' to break 'the inter-generational cycle of disadvantage'.

She said: 'We need mental health support in primary schools before the biological changes and academic pressures of adolescence kick in.

'We also need a focus on parenting and family support, so that parents feel able to get their children 'school ready', and are confident that they themselves can cope with the mental and emotional needs of their own children.

'We need to highlight how important it is to support mothers too, potentially even before they give birth. They need to be aware how vulnerable they might be and, critically, know where they can find help for themselves, as well as for their babies and toddlers.

'And potentially we could start to look even earlier, by teaching parenting and relationship skills to teenagers, to get the next generation of parents child-ready, well before they have to put these skills into practice.'

She added: 'Providing children in their earliest years with social and emotional security builds strong foundations which last a lifetime. I really do feel passionately about the importance of early intervention, and that by working on new approaches together, we can make a real difference for generations to come.'

Professor Peter Fonagy, chief executive of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, described the duchess as the person 'who has done more to turn the tide of stigma around mental health more than any other single individual that I could name.'

He had seen her visiting providers, 'energising, enthusing, deepening the commitment of front-line workers in an invaluable way', he said.

He added: 'She has also changed all our way of thinking by her intelligent questioning and crystal-clear focus.