Why Kate Middleton Isn’t Joining Prince William in Brazil for the Earthshot Prize Awards Amid Major Family Change

Next week, Prince William will travel solo to Brazil for an important royal engagement.

Kate Middleton won't join her husband when he heads to Rio de Janeiro for his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Nov. 5, People reports.

The Earthshot Prize is an initiative that's close to William's heart and aims to search "the world for environmental solutions that show the greatest potential." At the Earthshot Prize awards, the Prince of Wales will announce this year's five winners, who will receive a prize of £1 million, or around $1.3 million.

Although Kate attended the first two Earthshot Prize awards ceremonies, which were held in London in 2021 and in Boston in 2022, she hasn't attended the event with Will for the last several years.

According to People, Kate missed the 2023 ceremony in Singapore for a very relatable mom reason—Prince George had school exams that week, and she wanted to be home to support him. The Princess of Wales was also absent from last year's ceremony in South Africa, which came amid her cancer diagnosis and treatment, during which she largely stayed out of public view.

As for this year, Kate's absence from the Earthshot Prize awards is reportedly due to a combination of factors, including her her ongoing recovery while in remission from cancer and her top priority job as a hands-on parent to her and William's three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.

Kate will reportedly be focusing not just on taking care of her kids during their half-term break from Lambrook School, but also on guiding her family through a major transition its facing this year as the Waleses prepare to move into a new home inthe coming weeks.

The Wales family is moving from their current home, the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, to the nearby—and significantly larger—eight-bedroom Forest Lodge on the Windsor Great Park estate. Will and Kate reportedly see Forest Lodge as their "forever home" and plan to make it their permanent home base, even after William eventually takes the throne.

While Kate won't be in attendance at the event, Will won't exactly be alone. He'll be joined by the Earthshot Prize's prize council, which this year includes Brazilian native Gisele Bündchen, broadcaster and conservationist Sir David Attenborough, actress Cate Blanchett, chef José Andrés, and World Trade Organization director-general Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

After the Earthshot Prize awards, People reports, William will attend the UN climate conference in Belém, Brazil, on Nov. 6.