The Duchess of Cambridgehas kept busy since returning to the spotlight following her six-month maternity leave with Prince Louis. While all eyes have been on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they announced their pregnancy while on royal tour in Australia, Kate managed to stay under the radar as she slipped in a special secret engagement on Tuesday.

Kate visited the Sayers Croft Forest School for her first engagement after maternity leave. Photo: © PETER NICHOLLS/AFP/Getty Images

Likely to have dropped her kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, at school before getting to work, the 36-year-old then hosted an event at Kensington Palace to discuss her new project, the Early Years initiative. Though no other details have been confirmed, it’s definitely a cause close to the duchess’s heart, who puts a lot of work into early education and mental health awareness for kids and youth. It was previously said that the mother of three would be embarking on a solo charity campaign, and the Daily Mail reported: “She is bringing together experts from academia, education, health and other fields to work on how to help families tackle anti-social behaviour, addiction and metal health.”

From her sweet engagement at the Sayers Croft Forest School to her fashionable appearance at the Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, Kate dove headfirst back into her work. This particular initiative will be launched in the new year, and will be mostly focused on child welfare, including helping vulnerable families get the support they need to ensure a positive family dynamic. Industry experts will be gathering research on why these families aren’t getting the help they need, and hopefully the findings, which will be published next year, will help put in place better resources for them.

Kate painted with a child at the Reach Ahead initiative. Photo: © EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP/Getty Images

At her first engagement back from maternity leave, the duchess visited Sayers Croft’s garden centre, which allows inner-city kids the opportunity to engage in green-finger activities and get some time outdoors. When Kate was still pregnant with Prince Louis back in January, the beautiful brunette stepped out to visit Reach Academy with Place2Be in London, where she gave a powerful speech: "We all know how important childhood is, and how the early years shape us for life. We also know how negative the downstream impact can be, if problems emerging at the youngest age are overlooked, or ignored. It is therefore vital that we nurture children through this critical, early period."