Just last week, Kate Middleton stepped out for a seriously glamorous date night with Prince William. The pair arrived in coordinating velvet (yes, really) and even served up an epic slow-mo moment. But now, Princess Catherine is back to work and shifting the spotlight to a cause she’s long championed.
On Monday, November 24, the Princess of Wales, 43, marked Addiction Awareness Week in the U.K., which runs from Sunday, November 23, through Saturday, November 29, by sharing a powerful message encouraging people to show more understanding toward those in recovery. She posted the statement on Instagram, complete with snapshots of her handwritten note and a close-up of her signature at the bottom.
“Proud to be Patron of the Forward Trust this Addiction Awareness Week. Addiction is not a choice, or a personal failing, but a complex mental health condition that should be met with empathy and support,” the joint post with the Forward Trust and Taking Action on Addiction was captioned.
In her message, Princess Catherine expressed how meaningful it is to support “this hugely important campaign.”
“Through my role as Patron of The Forward Trust, it has been humbling to see the significant progress made to better understand addiction and tackle the stigma surrounding it. But there remains much more to do,” she wrote. “Even now in 2025, people’s experience of addiction is shaped by fear, shame and judgement. This needs to change.”
She went on to highlight how addiction affects families and communities, adding that now is the time to “show our compassion and love to help them, or their friends and family.”
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Catherine continued, “By talking about it in the open, together we can bring addiction and the harm it causes out of the shadows. We can reframe this issue with kindness and understanding, and we can help individuals and families coping with addiction know they are not alone.”
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