Prince William is continuing to follow through with his royal engagements despite the attention on his wife, Princess Kate Middleton.
The Prince of Wales, 41, traveled to Frameless London on Monday, March 11, where he joined supporters of the Earthshot Prize Launchpad, a new platform aimed at helping develop and make potential climate change solutions a reality.
“The @earthshotprize Launchpad is a match-making platform which will help to connect our Earthshot Winners, Finalists and standout nominees to investors and philanthropists who can help them bring their solutions to scale as quickly as possible,” a post on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account stated. “With £15 million already awarded to our 15 Winners and having helped to catalyse £50 million for our 45 Winners and Finalists through the Earthshot network, the work to protect and restore the planet by 2030 continues at pace.”
While delivering introductory remarks at the gathering, William expressed urgency when it comes to protecting the planet for future generations.
“We are in the critical decade now,” he said via Daily Mail. “And that is why, to have real impact, we must focus on supporting and developing as many solutions as possible and scale them at speed. It is not an easy task.”
William continued, “We must overcome the challenge of getting capital to the right sectors, solutions, and geographies.”
The Prince of Wales spoke at the Earthshot event after attending a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey with Queen Camilla and other senior royals. Noticeably missing from both events was Middleton.
The Princess of Wales’ wellbeing has been a major topic of conversation on social media after she underwent abdominal surgery at the beginning of the year.
Although Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that her procedure was “successful” and that she would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter,” questions about her whereabouts have persisted.
The scrutiny only increased this weekend when Middleton, 42, posted a Mother’s Day portrait photo sitting with her and William’s three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
After speculation arose that the family portrait was manipulated, Middleton – who has not had a scheduled appearance in public since she attended a service with the royal family on Christmas – issued a public statement.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” read a post shared via the official Prince and Princess of Wales X account on Monday, March 11. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
