London, UK – After her battle with cancer, Kate Middleton is back on the international stage. Together with her husband Prince William, she will travel to India to attend the Earthshot Prize 2026 ceremony.
As People reported, this will be the couple's first joint overseas trip since Kate's cancer diagnosis in January 2024. At the same time, they are returning to India 10 years after their first visit.
Next week, the royals will spend several days in Mumbai, Kensington Palace confirmed.
With around 5,000 expected guests, the Earthshot Prize ceremony will be the largest event yet for the environmental award that William launched in 2021.
For more than two years, Kate had largely withdrawn from public life as she battled cancer – now, she is gradually resuming her royal duties.
At the start of 2025, she announced that her illness was in remission.
In May of this year, Kate made a clear statement by taking a solo trip to Reggio Emilia in northern Italy. During her two‑day visit, she focused on early childhood development and education – one of her key personal priorities.
She has also recently taken on representative duties at official state receptions. Among other things, she participated in the September 2025 state visit of US President Donald Trump. Royal experts see her diplomatic role as an important boost for the British monarchy.
Kate and William will spend several days in India
The specific goal of the Earthshot Prize is to foster innovative solutions to the world’s biggest environmental challenges within a decade. Each year, five winners are honored in different categories, with each category receiving one million British pounds ($1.3 million) to further develop the respective projects.
For this year's edition, around 7,000 nominations came in from 169 countries. Among the 15 finalists are numerous forward‑thinking projects.
When announcing the venue in February, Prince William highlighted India's importance for technology, wildlife conservation, and sustainable development. Moreover, many past finalists and awardees of the Earthshot Prize hail from India.