Love Island's Zara McDermott rubs shoulders with royalty at The Princess of ... trends now
Love Island star Zara McDermott made a surprise appearance at The Princess of Wales' Shaping Us event on Monday evening.
The reality star turned TV presenter rubbed shoulders with royalty at the BAFTA London event, which saw the royal launch the next stage of her Shaping Us campaign and was hosted by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
Zara previously met with Queen Consort Camilla at Buckingham Palace for a reception to raise awareness of violence against women, however, her link to the Princess' campaign about the vital importance of children's early years was unclear.
Hello: Love Island star Zara McDermott made a surprise appearance at The Princess of Wales' Shaping Us event on Monday (pictured with The Prince Of Wales and Giovanni Fletcher)
Taking to Instagram at the event, Zara said she was 'incredibly grateful to be here with some extremely special people', which included the likes of presenter Rochelle Humes, England women football captain Leah Williamson and broadcaster Fearne Cotton.
The Prince and Princess Of Wales shared behind the scenes snaps in an Instagram post that featured Zara as she waited to meet the royals.
The pictures were captioned: 'Just a few hours until the Shaping Us campaign begins…
'Wonderful to bring together some of those who’ve been on the early years journey from the start, alongside a few new faces, for a sneak peek at the very special film at the heart of #ShapingUs Stay tuned tomorrow for more!'
Striking: The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the event which saw Kate launch the next stage of her Shaping Us campaign and was hosted by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood
Gorgeous: Zara looked classy in a navy midi dress, layering a cream, longline coat on top
Zara also shared a series of snaps from her time with the royals that she captioned: 'I am absolutely honoured to be working with the Princess Of Wales on her new campaign, Shaping Us.
'Studies have shown that so many of us don’t fully understand the magnitude of the first 0-5 years of a child’s life and how crucial these years are to forming who we become as adults.
'Since working on this campaign and listening to the science, I have realised the staggering link between mental health in adulthood, and childhood development. I always knew it was a factor, but I never realised how much.
'In fact, there is evidence to suggest that the majority of our adult mental health issues stem from our early childhood. To put this into context, by age 5, our brains rocket to 90% of the size of the adult brain.
Catching up: Zara also shared a series of snaps from her time with the royals
Catching up: She described Prince William as an incredible, lovely, humble man
Glamorous: She looked incredible in her navy gown with a tiered hemline
'Everything that happens to us between the ages of 0-5 forms who we become as
