Real reason why Kate Middleton is skipping out on significant event close to Prince William’s heart

The Princess will not be in attendance

The royal family are know for being proud patrons to various charities, representing issues close to their heart, and for setting up organisations of their own to support worthy causes.

One such organisation is the Earthshot Prize, a global environmental award founded by Prince William in 2021, which aims to tackle everything from climate change to air pollution through innovation (and rewards winners with a grant). This year, the ceremony will be taking place in Rio de Janeiro on 5 November, and sadly the Princess of Wales will not be in attendance.

While Kate made an appearance at the inaugural Eartshot Prize event in 2021, held in London, and the second in Boston, Massachusetts, she was notably absent in 2023 and 2024.

Now, it’s reported that the Princess will be skipping out on the prize-giving event once more, due to a special family rule that she and the Prince have made, ensuring that at least one of them is around for their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, at any given time.

The Prince and Princess of Wales at the first ever Earthshot Prize ceremony in London

Apparently the couple have a pact that means one of them must be around for school drop-offs.

Speaking at last year’s event in Cape Town, Prince William acknowledged his family were not in attendance and said, “I love Cape Town, I’ve had the most amazing week here, I’ve really enjoyed it. I don’t want to go! My children would love to be here, so would Catherine.”

More recently, William commented on the significance of the year 2030, which scientists have said is a landmark moment that planet-repairing changes must be implemented by.

“Back then, a decade felt a long time. George was seven, Charlotte five and Louis two; the thought of them in 2030 felt a lifetime away,” the Prince of Wales said in a new social media video.

“But today, as we stand halfway through this critical decade, 2030 feels very real. The Earthshot Prize was founded because this decade matters – 2030 is a threshold by which future generations will judge us. It is the point at which our actions, or lack of them, will have shaped forever the trajectory of our planet.”

The Earthshot Prize ceremony will take place on 5 November