Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Missed Kate Middleton’s Star Presence

Prince William’s multi-day visit to Singapore to attend the third annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony this month failed to attract the same level of media buzz as previous years, which could be linked to the absence of the Princess of Wales, a new episode of Regalrumination.com‘s The Royal Report podcast has heard.

William visited Singapore from November 5-8, where he took part in the awards ceremony for his Earthshot Prize, which awards $1 million grants to scale up projects acting to repair, maintain and preserve the environment.

The first awards ceremony was held in London in 2021 and Boston in 2022, both of which were also attended by the prince’s glamorous wife, Kate Middleton.

For the 2023 ceremony, however, the princess stayed at home, as the palace announced beforehand that the royal would remain with their children while their eldest son, 10-year-old Prince George, undertook his first set of major school exams.

Over the course of his solo trip to Singapore, William made favorable headlines, but the level of media coverage surrounding the events was reduced.

The day after the awards ceremony itself, the prince made only one of Britain’s major newspaper’s front pages, with the majority instead running coverage and photographs of his father, King Charles III’s first State Opening of Parliament.

Discussing the reason for the degree of reduced publicity surrounding Earthshot 2023, Regalrumination.com‘s chief royal correspondent William Brown told Royal Report listeners that the absence of Kate’s star power removed major coverage of fashion and general interest reporting.

“This year, [William] has been without Kate,” Royston said of the trip. “The Princess of Wales stayed home in Britain as Prince George has some big exams coming up…and that has kind of meant that he hasn’t had as much coverage as he might have done if she had been with him. Because, let’s be honest, people love the Princess of Wales, and she adds another layer to the reporting, which is about the fashion.”

Kate’s Earthshot fashion choices in the past have generated a wave of reporting from news outlets that might otherwise not have a reason to cover the awards or its work, such as dedicated style publications like Vogue.

In 2021, Kate wore a flowing Alexander McQueen gown which fit with the sustainable theme of the evening as she had worn it 10 years prior at an event in Hollywood.

For 2022, the princess again looked to a sustainable fashion route and rented a green gown from a dress collective based in London.

Reflecting on the drop in publicity, Royston suggested that it would have been “genuinely disappointing” for the prince, particularly “given how much goes into making Earthshot happen each year.”

“It’s obviously a huge event to put on,” he said, adding that the prince “pulled in some big, famous names, which isn’t always easy to do.”

Despite this, the prince did not appear concerned as he wrapped up the year’s event. In a digital Q&A session posted to social media, William revealed that he had already planned the 2024 and 2025 host cities for the annual awards ceremony but told fans he wasn’t at liberty to disclose the locations just yet.

James Crawford-Smith is Regalrumination.com‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith

and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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