Catherine will make her first official overseas trip with Prince William in four years when she joins him in Mumbai tomorrow.
The Princess of Wales is set to add extra star power to Prince William’s Earthshot Prize as she accompanies him on three days of public engagements in India.
Aides told The Mail on Sunday that Catherine was eager to take part because she is “incredibly proud” of what William has built through his global environmental awards.
The couple’s last joint royal tour was in December 2022, when they travelled to Boston for the Earthshot Prize. Catherine, 44, underwent major abdominal surgery in early 2024 before being diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment.
She has spoken candidly about the impact of her illness, revealing last week that doctors warned her in hospital that recovery “would not be linear” and would bring both “good days and bad”.
As part of her gradual return to full-time duties, she began cautiously testing the waters overseas with a short visit to Italy in May on behalf of her Centre for Early Childhood.
She is understood to have felt “buoyed” by the success of that trip. Although the Daily Mail reported in the spring that she hoped to accompany William to India, Kensington Palace waited until this weekend to confirm her attendance.
Catherine is understood to have wanted to make sure her eldest son, Prince George, was settled as a full-time boarder at Eton College before committing to the visit.
The Princess of Wales will make her first official overseas trip with Prince William in four years when she joins him in Mumbai this week. The couple are pictured at the Taj Mahal in 2016.
Catherine is believed to be keen to accompany Prince William in India because she is “incredibly proud” of his global environmental awards. The Prince is pictured speaking at the Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly in London in June.
The Princess of Wales wanted to ensure Prince George was settled as a full-time boarder at Eton College before committing to the trip. George is pictured arriving at the school with his parents in September.
During their last visit to India in 2016, William and Catherine travelled to Mumbai, New Delhi and Agra, where they visited the Taj Mahal. They also attended a Bollywood charity gala in a lavishly decorated tuk-tuk and played cricket at the Oval Maidan.
Kensington Palace finalised an updated programme for the couple only in recent days. Catherine’s spokesman told the MoS: “The princess is delighted to be joining the prince in India for such an important moment in his year.
“The Earthshot Prize means an enormous amount to him, and she is incredibly proud of what it has become and wants to be there to support him.
“Earthshot has grown remarkably since she last attended the awards in Boston in 2022, and this promises to be its biggest and most ambitious year yet.
“They both have such fond memories of their last visit to India in 2016 and are really looking forward to returning together, celebrating the extraordinary innovation taking place there and meeting the inspiring people behind it.”
A source added: “We’re delighted the princess is joining us, and I think it’s going to be a fantastic few days.”
William remains one of the Royal Family’s biggest attractions, but his visit is expected to generate even greater interest with Catherine at his side.
The couple will take part in at least nine engagements from Monday to Wednesday, covering sport, culture, sustainability, youth leadership and the longstanding relationship between the UK and India.
The palace has promised several high-profile appearances, including a Bollywood-themed event celebrating the vast Hindi-language film industry and a game of street cricket.
The centrepiece of the visit will be the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Tuesday evening, which will be streamed worldwide on Amazon Prime.
To mark the occasion, some of Mumbai’s most recognisable landmarks will be illuminated in green when the couple attend the ceremony—the largest display of its kind so far.
Take That will perform in India for the first time, while the royal couple will be joined by leading figures from music, film and sport, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rami Malek and Simone Ashley.
For the first time, the awards ceremony will be available to a worldwide audience in more than 240 countries and territories, with coverage offered in 40 languages on Prime Video.