Princess Kate has been accused of being a “reluctant traveller” by a columnist who noted she had only been out of the country on official business twice this year, despite her husband Prince William having significant royal engagements abroad.
Kate did not accompany William to New York earlier this month for a trip to highlight both his diplomatic and environmental efforts, and she is not expected to travel with him to Singapore in November for the Earthshot Prize, despite flying to Boston in Massachusetts last year for the same awards ceremony.
Ephraim Hardcastle from the Daily Mail claimed that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had hoped Kate would make more overseas trips and that she might bring her and William’s three children with her.
However he added: “It seems that school and routine are now more important than helping the FCO with some ‘panda diplomacy’.”
Kate’s two official engagements abroad this year so far consist of travelling to Marseilles to watch England play Argentina in the Rugby World Cup and attending the wedding of the Crown Prince of Jordan in Amman.
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Before Kate and William’s two elder children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, started school they had already visited a number of different countries on royal tours across the world.
When he was still a baby little George went with his parents on their tour of Australia and New Zealand, while Charlotte also accompanied them to Poland, Germany and Canada.
However Prince Louis has not been as lucky as his siblings, as not long after he was born the COVID-19 pandemic made overseas travel almost impossible.
Although Kate and William flew to Boston together for the 2022 Earthshot Prize last November, it is understood she will not make the journey to Singapore for the 2023 ceremony.
No official reason has been given for the decision, but it has been speculated that her parenting duties and the children’s school schedule may have influenced her.
All three of the Wales children now attend school together at Lambrook, close to the family home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
Last week the Prince of Wales flew to New York for a two-day trip, which saw him pack a lot into his schedule, with the focus being on his environmental activism.
He met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and waded into the Hudson River with a group of Billion Oyster Project volunteers to monitor an oyster reef.
William also announced the 15 Earthshot finalists for this year, with the five winners to be unveiled at the Singapore ceremony.
