Duchess Catherine is to launch a campaign to "raise the profile" of nursing worldwide.

Duchess Catherine

Duchess Catherine

The 36-year-old royal - who is pregnant with her and Prince William's third child - will head to St Thomas' Hospital in central London later this month to promote the global initiative, Nursing Now 2020, to try to help ensure nurses receive more credit for the work they do.

A tweet on the Kensington Palace Twitter account read: "The Duchess of Cambridge will visit St Thomas' Hospital on Tuesday 27th February to officially launch @NursingNow2020, a campaign to raise the profile and status of nursing worldwide. (sic)"

The Nursing Now campaign aims to realise the potential of nurses to deliver universal health coverage and improve the lives of women.

A piece on their official website states: "Nursing Now will hold launch events and activities across the world. We are delighted that HRH The Duchess of Cambridge will be joining us at our launch in London.

"Global events will take place in Geneva and London where we will introduce global champions, host high-level decision makers and hear from nurses working day to day with patients to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing nursing globally."

Catherine's great-grandmother Olive Middleton worked as a nurse during the First World War when she cared for injured servicemen in Leeds.

The duchess - who has children Prince George, four, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte with William - attended a meeting with community nurses, midwives, and health visitors last month to speak about the pressures put on new mothers.

She said at the time: "There's an expectation you're going to be super happy all the time, and one in four of us aren't.

"These statistics are there, the research is there, but actually it's getting the awareness out there for mothers to take it [help]."