Helen Whately

Charlie split with the father of her three children because he was violent towards her. Too busy raising her children alone, she never fully dealt with the abuse or break-up. The older her children got the harder it became and eventually she reached crisis point and her children were living with their grandmother.

In the midst of a nervous breakdown, Charlie was introduced to the Princess Project, a brilliant charity in Maidstone that helps mothers who are struggling to cope.

They offer mum-to-mum mentoring, drop-in coffee mornings, and a ‘totcycle’ exchange for good-quality second-hand toys, clothes, pushchairs and anything else a family might need.

I visited the Princess Project last week and met CEO Emma Tanner. She’s a former vet who set up the charity when she had her first child and realised there was very little support for women going through the life-changing experience of new motherhood. I remember how overwhelming having your first child can be. Emma told me that often women just need someone to talk to and to recognise that they are not alone.

One mother of twins I met there told me the charity has been a ‘lifeline’ for her when the struggles of parenthood become too much. Having the chance to speak to other people going through the same thing has helped get her through. As for Charlie, she says that at first she was unsure about letting the Princess Project into her life, and was afraid that they would think she was a failure. Now – with her children back home – she says she’s so glad she did: “I have never once been judged or criticised by them, they have shown me a new type of love and support that you can’t always get from family or friends. They showed me that I wasn’t a bad mum or a failure but that all I needed was to believe in myself.”