Kate Middleton Not Joining Prince William At Earthshot Prize Awards

Prince William will be attending the Earthshot Prize Awards solo and Kate Middleton will be staying behind in the U.K. He will be travelling overseas by himself again following his trip to New York last month.

The Princess of Wales will not join the ceremony which will take place in Singapore on November 7 for a very good reason. It is an important week for their eldest child, Prince George, 10, who will have his school exams. The Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English received confirmation that "Prince George has exams that week and she (Kate Middleton) wants to be at home to support him".

Kensington Palace has yet to confirm Kate Middleton's absence at the Earthshot Prize Awards. But if true, then it would be the first time she would miss the event since her husband launched it in 2020. The first ceremony was held in London in October 2021 and then in Boston in December 2022.

Last year, the mum-of-three presented the "Clean Our Air" award on stage while wearing a lime green off-the-shoulder Solace London dress which she rented from HURR, a rental platform in the U.K. for designer dresses. She accessorised it with an emerald and diamond choker that once belonged to Princess Diana, along with a pair of halo emerald and diamond earrings mounted in platinum by Asprey.

Meanwhile, for the inaugural Earthshot Prize Awards, guests were asked to recycle old outfits and not purchase new ones in keeping with the event's sustainable and earth-friendly theme. The Princess of Wales recycled a lilac gown by Alexander McQueen, which she initially wore during a visit stateside with Prince William more than ten years ago.

She donned the same dress to the BAFTAs in Los Angeles in 2011. Instead of using its original belt, she paired it with a bead-studded accessory from Jenny Packham's 2018 bridal collection.

Prince William's international contest invites changemakers to submit solutions across five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate. The 15 finalists selected out of 1,300 nominees this year were announced during the summit in New York. But only five will be awarded at the ceremony in Singapore.

News about Prince William's solo trip to Singapore comes after his recent two-day visit to New York City on September 18. He was there to promote his Earthshot Prize during the city's annual climate week event. He also had a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres during the U.N. General Assembly.

Meanwhile, back in the U.K. Kate Middleton visited the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton in Somerset on September 18. It was her first visit in her new role as Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Prince Andrew previously held the role until 2022.

Prince William announced Singapore as the destination for the third Earthshot Prize Awards in May this year. He said: "The Earthshot Prize is all about showing the world that solutions to some of the biggest environmental challenges we face are out there. After two years of discovering impactful ideas and innovations, I am delighted that The Earthshot Prize is travelling to Singapore, where the ground-breaking solutions of our 2023 Finalists will be celebrated."

Kate Middleton's decision to support Prince George during the Earthshot Prize Awards coincides with reports that she and Prince William want to give their children a normal upbringing as much as possible. They are also parents to Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. A palace insider called it a "balancing act" as they are also preparing their eldest child for his future role as monarch, saying they "are doing the right thing, protecting him so he can have as normal a childhood as possible, but he's also dipping into duties as a future monarch".