Princess Kate recently made a poignant visit to a prison to meet mothers behind bars, and she was able to put everyone at ease as she toured its on-site nursery

The Princess of Wales has a knack of putting people at ease when they meet her face-to-face. And that natural charm came into play when she visited a women’s prison in Cheshire earlier this week.

Kate, 43, continued her measured return to public duties by touring HMP Styal near Wilmslow, a closed-category prison for adult female and young offenders over the ages of 18. Inmates are serving sentences for everything from robbery and drug offences to the most serious, such as murder.

The princess was there to tour a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in her role as Patron of Action for Children to highlight how important “strong, loving and consistent” relationships are to a child’s development, even in the most challenging of environments. Amanda Taylor, Action for Children’s Operational Director of Children’s Services, later spoke to People about Kate’s “incredible visit”.

“We felt very privileged that the princess visited one of our mother and baby units,” she said. “We consider them our little gems that we don’t always get publicity about. It is incredibly important work that we deliver and for the princess to shine a light on that work was a fantastic opportunity for us.”

Although the mothers in the unit were “nervous,” the Princess of Wales made everyone feel “incredibly comfortable,” Taylor says. “She just naturally helped the women to feel relaxed,” she explains. “One of the women found it hard to talk and she spent some time with her at the end, talking to her one to one. She is very skilled at making people feel comfortable. These are very vulnerable women in a difficult situation.”

The prison, which has a capacity of 454, currently has about 400 female prisoners, both on remand and those already completing their sentences, including those for life. Pregnant women and mothers live in a separate area of the building and are supported to care for their babies by trained prison staff and early years experts, who even ensure that babies are exposed to regular experiences such as going on walks, shopping and travelling on a bus. They also help to organise overnight stays with other family members to establish strong bonds with a wider network.

Ultimately, the MBU’s aim is to help establish and maintain a strong bond between mother and child, particularly in the crucial few months of their lives. The hope is that the units will also help break the cycle of re-offending, which for female offenders in England and Wales sits at a rate of 22.3 per cent.

During her visit, the princess met staff and former residents to hear about the high-quality nursery provision the prison provides, as well as targeted intervention and parenting support for inmate mothers. She also visited its on-site nursery to see where babies and children living on-site can learn and play. And she chatted to a group of current inmates on the MBU to hear about how Action for Children has been helping them.

One of them left the prison six weeks ago with her toddler son after serving a 14-month sentence for an undisclosed offence, and another was 30 weeks pregnant when she began an 11-month sentence and gave birth to a daughter in prison.

One of the women told Kate how it was only by being sent to prison that she received “so much” help, something that was unlikely to have been available in her local community. The future queen replied: “It shouldn’t have to take something like this to get access to something like this…”