Duchess of Cambridge rewears dress first worn a decade ago
Watch: Prince William and Kate Middleton arrive at Earthshot Prize ceremony
The Duchess of Cambridge surprised fans last night by recycling an Alexander McQueen dress a decade after first wearing it.
The 39-year-old Royal arrived at the Earth Shot Prize ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London wearing the same lilac dress she had wore to the BAFTAs in 2011.
Spearheaded by husband Prince William, 39, the Earthshot Prize celebrates and fund new ideas for tackling the climate change crisis.
Proving it's possible to be both fashionable and sustainable, Kate restyled her old outfit to include a bronze belt, instead of the original silver one she had when she first wore the £4,290 dress 10 years ago.
Read more: Prince William 'out-styles' Kate in velvet jacket and turtleneck top at Earthshot Prize awards
It's not the first time the mother-of-three has 'up-cycled' her wardrobe. In fact, Kate is known for rewearing outfits from Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham and Stella McCartney, among other brands.
William asked all guests at the event to “consider the environment when choosing their outfit".
Hence, he wore a recycled dark green velvet blazer from Reiss, which he had previously worn to a charity event for Centrepoint in 2019, as well as an old turtleneck and a 20-year-old pair of trousers.
To further prove their point, the Royals arrived at the event in an electric Audi car and no plastic was used to build the stage.
Other celebrities in attendance included actress Emma Watson, who wore a gown made from old bridal dresses, and Dame Emma Thompson, who wore a recycled blue suit.
The 15 judges included broadcaster and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough, Australian actress Cate Blanchett and Colombian singer Shakira.
Performances were held by Ed, Sheeran, Coldplay and Nigerian singer Yemi Alade.
In a prerecorded video at the beginning of the ceremony, William said: “We are alive in the most consequential time in human history. The actions we choose or choose not to take in the next 10 years will determine the fate of the planet for the next thousand.
“A decade doesn’t seem long, but humankind has an outstanding record of being able to solve the unsolvable … The future is ours to determine. And if we set our minds to it, nothing is impossible.”
In the end, five teams were awarded prizes of £1million each for their ideas, including winners from Costa Rica, The Bahamas and India.
The name Earthshot is a reference to President John F Kennedy's "Moonshot" campaign in the 1960s when he pledged to get a man on the Moon within a decade.
The ceremony will be held every year for the next ten years as an incentive for governments, scientists, activists and businesses to find ideas to tackle global warming.
Just last week, William expressed his frustration at billions of pounds being spent funding space tourism when the world is battling with the climate change crisis.
In an interview with BBC's Newcast he said: "We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.
"I think that ultimately is what sold it for me - that really is quite crucial to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future."
Watch: William Shatner responds to Prince William's space tourism criticism
