Kate Middleton might be getting back into the routine of her regular royal work schedule, but she’s still missing out on the first international engagement Prince William is taking on this year. On Wednesday, news broke that William is headed to Estonia in just a few days, but this time, Kate won’t be joining him. So far, the palace has yet to share the reason why.
People reported that Will be visiting Estonia – his first trip there – on March 20 and 21, which is next week, and though we don’t have much information about what Kate will be doing instead, it seems Will has plenty planned to keep him busy over the quick two-day trip.
As colonel-in-chief of the Mercian Regiment, he’ll be visiting with troops to “learn more about how the unit is boosting NATO’s eastern flank as part of Operation Cabrit.” He will also visit the capital city, Tallinn. According to People, while there, William will “learn more about how Estonia has responded to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and how Estonia is innovating in renewable energy and technology.”
Because it sounds like this visit is geared toward William specifically, there may have been no real need for Kate to join him this time around. Besides, the palace has made it very clear that she’s making a gradual return to work, so it’s possible this just happens to be an engagement she chose to sit out.
It also seems reasonable to assume that Kate does plan to travel in 2025. During his solo trip to Cape Town last year, Will said, “Hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so we’ll have some more trips maybe lined up.”
And we’ll still see Kate at work next week, though she’ll be a bit closer to home. She’ll be appearing at the St. Patrick’s Day parade to see the Irish Guards on Monday after she was unable to be at the event last year while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Here’s hoping that Kate will be back to traveling soon – if only because it means she’s feeling healthy enough to take on that kind of adventure. But this time around, there’s no doubt that George, Charlotte, and Louis will be glad to have their mom around while their dad is on a work trip.
