The Princess of Wales has issued a rallying call to business leaders to prioritise “time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success”.

Kate told a gathering of senior executives in the City of London that “profitability” and making a “positive impact” were not “incompatible”, at the summit hosted by her Royal Foundation to drive action and investment in the early years development of children.

Delivering the event’s opening speech, the future Queen told guests her passion for promoting early years, described in the past as her “life’s work”, stemmed from the “essential truth” that “the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults”.

She went on to say: “A loving home ultimately teaches us how to love and how to care, but every environment has the potential to shape our hearts.

“Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.

“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.

“As business leaders you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not and should not be incompatible.”