Princess Kate confirmed at the last minute to join Prince William in India

LEAVE A COMMENT The Princess of Wales will join her husband this week when he jets to Mumbai for the Earthshot Prize, Kensington Palace has confirmed.

Catherine will accompany Prince William at the starry environmental Awards night taking place on Tuesday – her first appearance since the Awards were held in Boston in 2022.

It will also mark the couple's first joint overseas visit since 2023, when they were guests at Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan's wedding to Princess Rajwa.

The Waleses will arrive for their three-day visit on Monday, before concluding their trip on Wednesday after celebrating innovation, sustainability, youth leadership and the enduring connections between the United Kingdom and India.

The announcement was made with just one day to go, following months of speculation that the Princess would be returning for Earthshot this year after a break from visits abroad amid her cancer diagnosis in 2024.

It will mark the couple's second official visit to India, following a week-long tour of India and Bhutan in April 2016.

The last time William and Catherine went on an official tour abroad was in 2022, when they visited the Caribbean to mark the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.

The Princess will join her husband at a number of engagements throughout the visit, spending time with communities across Mumbai.

It will include a range of sectors and initiatives, from sustainable urban transport and responsible manufacturing to youth-led environmental action and India's globally influential creative industries.

Their Royal Highnesses will also attend the inaugural Children's Earthshot Awards Ceremony at the Museum of Solutions.

William and Catherine will start with an engagement focused on gully cricket and conclude with a visit to the heart of Mumbai's film industry, Dharma Productions.

However, it's not yet been confirmed if Catherine will join a line-up of presenters on the Awards night, despite having previously done so in Boston in 2022.

Catherine also joined her husband at the inaugural awards in London in 2021, giving a rare speech in which she called for action to save the planet.

The 2026 Prize has announced four presenters: Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek, actresses Alia Bhatt and Sonam Kapoor, and legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

There will be five winners of the Prize across five distinct categories: Revive our Oceans, Fix our Climate, Build a Waste-Free World, Protect and Restore Nature, and Clean our Air.

In the lead-up to this year's event, the Prince appeared on the BBC’s Graham Norton Show to promote his annual global environmental initiative.

William’s project is halfway through its decades-long cycle to recognise and reward issues and ideas to help save the planet, and the event has already been staged in London, Singapore, Cape Town, Boston and Rio de Janeiro.

When he announced it would be held in Mumbai back in February, he hailed India as one of the "most important forces for climate and nature".

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