Kate Middleton Won’t Join Prince William in South Africa for Earthshot Prize Awards: Report
It looks like the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards will be yet another solo outing for Prince William. The future king will not reportedly be joined at the November 2024 ceremony by his wife, Kate Middleton. Her cancer recovery is ongoing after completing chemotherapy treatment. However, the Princess of Wales could be at a big event with the Prince of Wales and other British royals just days later.
Kate isn’t going to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize Awards with William
Sorry, Kate fans. Don’t expect a glitzy appearance from her in the coming weeks. According to the U.K.’s Express, Kate plans on staying home with Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, while William travels to Cape Town, South Africa, for the Earthshot Prize Awards on Nov. 6, 2024.
If Kate does indeed skip the ceremony, it will mark the second year in a row that William’s walked the Earthshot Prize’s green carpet without her. The now-42-year-old skipped the 2023 ceremony in Singapore because George had a big test at school.
The last time she supported William’s environmental initiative was in December 2022 when she sported a bright green gown—and an emerald and diamond necklace with ties to Princess Diana—at the Boston, Mass., ceremony.
It’s yet another wait-and-see moment from Kate as her official timeline for returning to work—public appearances and all—has yet to be announced. Although she did make a surprise appearance with William on Oct. 10, 2024, to visit emergency service workers.
Some have suggested she won’t return to work full-time until 2025. Meanwhile, Kensington Palace, her and William’s office within the royal family, hasn’t shared any details outside of Kate’s own updates.
She may join William for the royal family’s Remembrance Day festivities
Just days after the Earthshot Prize Awards is Remembrance Day. A staple on the royal family’s calendar, the U.K. version of Veterans Day includes a National Service of Remembrance the Sunday before the official holiday on Nov. 11. That’s where Kate is predicted to make an appearance.
“Big events, maybe such as the Cenotaph Remembrance Day service, might be something where she feels she would want to be,” Jennie Bond, a royal expert and former BBC correspondent, previously said of Kate. “I think big set-piece occasions like that are where we might see her.”
Traditionally, royals play major roles, often laying a wreath. Kate, for her part, is known to watch the service from a balcony. At the time of writing, her attendance at the service has yet to be confirmed.
Kate Middleton is slowly returning to work
Kate isn’t officially back to work yet. However, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t done some work. After occasionally working from home, she’s moved on to holding meetings at Windsor Castle. (Her and William’s family home, Adelaide Cottage, is nearby.)
As noted in the Times of London’s court circular—essentially a rundown of what British royals did that day—Kate attended two closed-door meetings: one about her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey, which is reportedly still going ahead as planned, and another about her youth development work.
