A single tweet from Kensington Palace about Prince William’s upcoming trip to Cape Town in South Africa for the fourth annual Earthshot Awards has left royal fans wondering: Will Kate Middleton join the Prince of Wales this year and make the overseas trip?
Is Kate Middleton Heading to Africa? Why a Tweet from Kensington Palace Is Causing a Stir
T-minus five weeks until the environmental awards
Published Oct 4, 2024
•1:29pm
Pool/Getty Images
The reason for the buzz and added scrutiny comes down to the word choice used on their official account. The caption, which promotes the annual event scheduled to take place on November 6, states, “There are just five weeks to go until we’re in Cape Town for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize.” The use of we is the exact phrasing that is making royal sleuths question whether Kate will join or not. (Though the tweet isn’t signed with William or Kate’s initials, it is posted to their joint account.)
Alberto Pizzali/Getty Images
Despite the royal optimism—and enthusiasm—for Kate to appear by William’s side, the prospect of her attending seems like wishful thinking at best. A recent report in the U.K. Times written by journalist Roya Nikkhah, who has earned regular exclusives from Kensington Palace over the years, says, “There is no set date for [Kate to] return to public life, nor any engagements inked into her diary, and Kate will not accompany William to Cape Town in early November for this year’s Earthshot Prize awards.” (Adding to the credibility of Nikkhah’s reporting is the fact that, in the same piece, she shares that Kate will be resuming work on her annual “Together at Christmas” concert—a return to official royal duties that has since been carried out.)
Of course, in years past, Kate has been by William’s side for Earthshot, a high-profile cause for the Prince of Wales. She joined him for the first awards in London in 2021, then again in Boston in 2022. Kate sat out the 2023 awards—which took place in Singapore—so that she could stay home to help Prince George with his exams. As the Princess of Wales only recently completed her chemotherapy treatment following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year, it seems unlikely that she would make such an ambitious trip at this time.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
That said, anything is possible and royal time will tell, but Kate has made it clear that her continued recovery is her top priority right now and her main goal is to take each day as it comes.
In the meantime, we’re eager to see who does join William on the green carpet in Cape Town. A full week of events is planned surrounding the 2024 event with the fifteen finalists from around the world only recently being unveiled during the Earthshot Summit in New York. From David Beckham to José Andrés, you never know who could pop up.
