HRH The Crown Princess and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge visited Danner’s Shelter in Copenhagen on 23 February 2022. Every year, The Mary Foundation and Ole Kirk’s Fond hand out 2000 backpacks to children who are in shelters with their mothers in Denmark, Greenland, or on the Faroe Islands. The backpacks, which are adapted to the child’s gender and age, contain a toothbrush, a teddy bear, school items and a postcard – and also a greeting The Crown Princess. But, at the same time, the backpack also functions as a tool to get the children to talk about their experiences with the violence and the neglect they have experienced.

The backpacks were the focal point when Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge visited Danner’s Shelter in Copenhagen earlier today. There, Children and Families advisor Lene Frisch Larsen told Their Royal Highnesses about the shelter’s many years of experience with the backpacks.

At Danner’s Shelter, one can see that the backpacks inspire confidence for the children and that the handover process is a good opportunity to initiate a conversation to say that the children are never themselves to blame for the situation in which they have ended up.

During the visit The Crown Princess and The Duchess had private conversations with several of the shelter’s current residents. Danner’s Shelter has space for 18 women and 18 children in all.

The Mary Foundation’s wide-ranging work with strengthening children’s mental health is also embraced by The Duchess, who established The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood last year. The Duchess works together with the centre to raise awareness of the problems that particularly vulnerable children live with after experiencing neglect early in life. Therefore, the hope is that The Duchess will get inspiration for further development of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood’s focus areas during the day’s visit.