Kate Middleton is missing the awards ceremony for the environmentally-focused Earthshot Prize this year for the first time. The competition, which rewards innovations that will help fight climate change and environmental challenges, was founded by her husband Prince William in 2020.
William, who is currently in Singapore for this year’s event, explained the very good reason for Princess Kate’s absence: Duty—of the non-royal variety—called.
“Catherine is very sorry she can’t be here,” William said in a speech on Monday. “She is helping George through his first set of major exams.”
That’s right: 10-year-old Prince George is balancing his own growing royal duties with his academic career, with his mom right alongside him.
Prince George is currently in Year Six, the final year of Primary School in the British school system. Princess Kate’s signature social issue in her work as a royal is the importance of early childhood, and how adults can best support kids and help them thrive. She started the Shaping Us initiative to engage with organizations and individuals who share her mission. The Princess of Wales spends plenty of hands-on time with her own three children as well, recently taking a brief break from royal appearances to be with her children while they were on a holiday from school. She came back strong last week, taking a “dad walk” with a community group of fathers that calls itself “the Dadvengers.”
Family friends of Kate and William have said that it’s important to the future king and his wife to lay a strong foundation for their kids, and that the late queen had given them permission to put their children ahead of royal duties for the last decade.
The source said the couple “consciously set out to achieve a sense of normality” for their children.
Another unnamed source said that Kate’s upbringing heavily influences the Waleses decisions on childrearing.
“Coming from a different background, she appreciates the importance of having family time,” the source said. “She wasn’t brought up in that aristocratic setting where you see the children for a short time each day.”
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