William and Kate Spotlight Sustainability and Diplomacy at the 2022 Earthshot Prizes

At last year’s first-ever Earthshot Prize ceremony, Kate Middleton wore a lilac Alexander McQueen gown that had been in her wardrobe for a decade, because the award encourages its guests to think about sustainability when choosing their outfits. So it was a bit of a surprise on Friday night, when Prince William and Kate arrived on the recycled green carpet of Boston’s MGM Music Hall, and Kate was wearing a never-before-seen bright green dress by Solace London.

It turned out that the Princess rented her dress from the UK platform HÜRR, which has a mission to undo fashion’s reputation as one of the most polluting industries. She paired the dress with a familiar pair of glittering pumps from Gianvito Rossi and a very special Windsor family heirloom, a cabochon emerald and diamond choker necklace that once belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. The necklace was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II upon Diana’s 1981 marriage to King Charles III, and she made headlines by once wearing it as a choker.

The decision to rent the dress was one of a few steps that the couple took to limit their carbon footprint on their trip to the United States, which also included taking a commercial British Airways flight to and from Logan Airport and driving hybrid Range Rovers around the city.

The couple was joined at the ceremony by Earthshot Prize Council Members Indra Nooyi, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, and Naoko Yamazaki. Radio broadcaster Clara Amfo and actor Daniel Dae Kim hosted the night, which featured live performances by Annie Lennox, Chloe x Halle, and Ellie Goulding, and prerecorded contributions from Billie Eilish and Cate Blanchett. The awards were presented by environmental advocates Catherine O’Hara, David Beckham, Rami Malek, and Shailene Woodley.

During the ceremony, Kate took to the stage to present the award in the Clean Our Air category to Mukuru Stoves, a Kenyan company that creates safer, cleaner cookstoves founded five years ago. She clapped, with admiration in her eyes, as a video told the story of the company’s founder Charlot Magayi, who designed the product after her daughter suffered burns from a substandard stove.

Early on after he founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, William mentioned that he drew inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s quest to send American astronauts to the moon. On Friday morning, William met with Caroline Kennedy, the former president’s daughter and the current US ambassador to Australia, and her two children, Jack and Tatiana Schlossberg, at the JFK Presidential library, where they also viewed historical documents related to the space program.