Kate Middleton’s Earthshot Return Is Another Exercise in Royal Image Management

Kate Middleton will join Prince William in Mumbai this week for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, marking their first joint overseas working visit since her cancer diagnosis. Naturally, the royal press is treating the announcement as another momentous occasion.

The Sunday Times reports that the Princess of Wales is proud of William’s environmental initiative and excited to support him in India.

The three-day visit, from November 16 to 18, will include the Earthshot Prize ceremony, the inaugural Children’s Earthshot Awards and engagements highlighting sustainable transport, cricket and Bollywood. Five environmental innovators will each receive £1 million to develop their solutions.

Kensington Palace describes this year’s Earthshot as its most ambitious edition yet. But before we get swept up in another round of royal publicity, perhaps we should revisit some of the history surrounding this event.

The Royal Press Has a Conveniently Short Memory

On Sunday, HELLO! published an article with the headline, “Princess Kate confirmed at the last minute to join Prince William in India.” Yet on October 5, the very same journalist, Eleanor Dye, acknowledged that Kate had long been tipped to accompany William to Mumbai.

PEOPLE had been reporting on the potential visit as early as May. Six months of speculation have now given way to another round of celebratory headlines confirming what the royal press had been anticipating all along. So the royal press spent months speculating about her attendance and can now generate another round of headlines celebrating its confirmation.

There is a difference between reporting royal activity and manufacturing excitement around it. The royal press increasingly seems incapable of distinguishing between the two.

The Sun’s royal correspondent Matt Wilkinson also emphasised that this would be their first joint foreign working trip in four years.

William and Kate have been married for 15 years. Why does the royal press insist on presenting so many of their official engagements as historic firsts?

As we reported last year, Kate has missed three consecutive Earthshot ceremonies. Her absence in 2023, when she stayed home to support Prince George during his school exams, predates her publicly announced health issues in 2024.

Regardless of the reasons for her subsequent absences, the royal media’s habit of presenting routine responsibilities as extraordinary personal achievements long predates her health announcement.

Remember When Earthshot Flew In Celebrities but Kept Its Winners at Home?

The last time Kate attended Earthshot was in Boston in December 2022, and what an interesting exercise in environmental responsibility that turned out to be.

The five winners participated remotely rather than travelling internationally to reduce the ceremony’s carbon footprint.

William and Kate, however, travelled from Britain, while celebrities including David Beckham, Rami Malek, Billie Eilish and Ellie Goulding attended in person. The Boston Globe even reported that Beckham arrived with a police escort.

Imagine organising an environmental awards ceremony where the actual environmental innovators participate via video link to save the planet, while royalty and celebrities enjoy the green carpet. Who exactly was the ceremony designed to celebrate?

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From Cutting Down Trees in Belize to Helicopters in Essex

The contradictions surrounding William’s environmental advocacy extend beyond Earthshot. In March 2022, just months before the Boston ceremony, William and Kate’s Caribbean tour faced protests from an Indigenous Maya community in Indian Creek, Belize.

According to Progressive International, a police officer instructed village chairman Sebastian Shol to have the village cut down trees bordering a football field to make room for a helicopter landing. Shol only learned the following day that the helicopter would carry William and Kate.

Residents objected to the lack of consultation and raised concerns about an ongoing land dispute involving Flora and Fauna International, a conservation organisation of which William was a patron. The protests ultimately forced organisers to relocate the royal engagement.

The irony is difficult to ignore. A royal visit involving one of the monarchy’s most prominent environmental campaigners would have required an Indigenous community to cut down trees for his arrival.

Four years later, the contradictions continue. In September 2026, William called for greater urgency in tackling climate change. Less than two weeks later, Kate was filmed boarding a royal helicopter at London Southend Airport after visiting a community gardening project.

If William expects governments, businesses and ordinary people to change their behaviour to protect the environment, why should his own household escape that same scrutiny? Environmental responsibility should extend beyond speeches, photo opportunities and awards ceremonies.

Royal Publicity Is Not Environmental Accountability

The environmental innovators competing for Earthshot deserve recognition, investment and international attention. Their achievements should dominate the coverage coming out of Mumbai this week. Instead, much of the royal coverage already centres on Kate’s attendance and how proud she is of her husband.

Meanwhile, even this year’s choice of venue has attracted environmental criticism. The Guardian reported on November 8 that Earthshot will hold its Mumbai ceremony at a venue belonging to Reliance Industries, which also owns the world’s largest oil refinery. Earthshot defended its choice on practical grounds and said it was paying the standard commercial rental rate.

Perhaps the royal press could spend less time celebrating the Princess of Wales for attending her husband’s awards ceremony and more time examining whether the monarchy practises what it preaches.

Royal publicity is not journalism, and environmental branding is not environmental accountability. We should stop confusing the two.