KATE Middleton has congratulated the new Chief Scout and said she is “looking forward” to working with him.
The Princess of Wales, who is still undergoing preventative cancer treatment, is Patron of the Scout Association, which has appointed explorer and presenter Dwayne Fields, 41, to the top role.
Fields, who is the first black Briton to reach the North Pole, took over the Chief Scout position from Bear Grylls, who has served in the role since 2009.
Writing from The Prince and Princess of Wales‘ shared social media accounts, Kate wrote today: “Delighted to welcome @DwayneFields as the new UK Chief Scout.
“The Scouts is such an incredible organisation, teaching #SkillsForLife and making a huge difference to young people across the country.
“Looking forward to working with you!”
She signed off the message with the letter ‘C’, short for her first name, Catherine.
Fields survived a stabbing and attempted shooting while growing up in London, and credited the Scouts with teaching him the skills to avoid falling “on the wrong side of the tracks”.
He told BBC’s Today that he moved to north London from rural Jamaica and later lived in east London, where there was “a lot of street violence” including robberies and knife crime.
Mr Fields told the programme: “I walked through the doors of a Scout hut in north London when I was seven years old – scared, new to the country, anxious, really shy, and it gave me a place to belong.
“Scouting gave me someone to believe in me and allowed me to believe in myself.
“I think scouting instilled in me a level of self-belief that I carried through all of that and it supported me making the right choices at the right times.
“I think it played a huge part in me being where I am today.”
He added: “I was stabbed, I was a victim of street violence, I’d never carried a knife with malice, I’ve never carried any instruments with malice, and I suffered a stabbing incident just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“It would have been so easy for me to slip and fall on the wrong side of the tracks, but in terms of my self-confidence, my self-belief… sometimes we look at it and call them soft skills – empathy and patience, and understanding, and communications skills.
“All these things played a part in me making the right decisions at the right time, and arguably I learned those and developed those in scouting.”
This year has been a tough year for Princess Kate, following the announcement that she was undergoing preventative cancer treatment in March.
We’ve seen the Princess of Wales a handful of times this year, despite her taking a step back from royal duties for her recovery.
These include her triumphant appearance at Trooping the Colour in June, and her attending the Wimbledon Men’s Final in July with Princess Charlotte.
In June, the royal mum-of-three shared how her treatment is “ongoing and will be for a few more months” as she revealed she is “not out of the woods yet”.
But she told how it is a “joy” for her to still engage with school life and spend time “on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home”.
She said: “I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months.
“It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales – along with Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – are said to have spent the summer break at their Norfolk country home Anmer Hall.
Last week Kate was spotted heading to church with Prince William and Prince George up at Balmoral in Scotland.
Prince William said he has been doing the school runs for his family this year while Kate recovers.
