Kate meets new mothers and babies on prison visit

The Princess of Wales visited a mother and baby unit at the prison

The Princess of Wales has visited a women's prison in Cheshire, where she talked to inmates in a mother and baby unit.

On a visit to HMP Styal, in Wilmslow, Catherine was shown a project designed to develop strong and healthy relationships between mothers and babies "even in the most challenging of environments".

The princess, in contrast to more glamorous royal engagements, stepped through the security gates in the rain, ahead of a tour of the prison, which holds about 400 inmates, some serving life sentences.

While there, she met specialist staff supporting new mothers, and visited a nursery for babies who will have to spend their first formative months inside a jail.

Catherine arrives in the rain at HMP Styal in Cheshire

On her fourth official visit to a prison, the princess met women being supported by the Action for Children charity, which runs mother and baby units in three prisons in the north of England.

"Being a mum in prison is difficult," a former inmate told her. But she said that the specialist help provided a "safe space" and gave her a chance of training and help with learning about parenthood.

"I've made silly decisions and ended up in this position, but you can't turn back the clock. But I've got as much out of it as I could," she said, telling the princess that she had embraced what she could learn while in prison.

The former inmates also talked about the stigma attached to having a baby in prison - and the princess talked to staff about the importance of "attachment and bonding", including for mothers who had faced trauma in their own lives.

But there were also shouts and whistles as the royal visitor moved around the prison, with calls from inmates: "We need more funding. Tell them the truth."

The princess heard from women who had been mothers in prison

The prison hopes that helping new mothers build a strong connection with their newborns while in jail will reduce the risk of reoffending when inmates are released.

The princess has a strong interest in early years education, as set out in her Shaping Us initiative, which emphasises the importance of the first five years of a child's life.

Tuesday's visit to HMP Styal continues this campaign to raise awareness of those early years.

It is the latest in a series of engagements this year, as the princess returns to work after the end of her cancer treatment

The unit at HMP Styal provides a separate area for new and expectant mothers. Stuffed toys were dotted around the unit, that tries to create a different atmosphere to regular prison life.

There is nursing care and support for both the mothers and their babies - who may spend their first 18 months in prison.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice estimate that there are about 200,000 children in England and Wales with a parent, either a mother or father, in prison.

There has often been attention on what the princess is wearing on such visits, with interest in her fashion choices - and it has been clarified by Kensington Palace aides on Tuesday that there is no change in the policy of sharing details of her clothing.

The palace will sometimes issue details of what the princess is wearing, but not necessarily always, with "no change in our approach", says a palace spokesperson.

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