As Prince William prepares to visit South Africa to attend the 2024 Earthshot Prize ceremony, historians and royal fans are revisiting Prince William's last trip to South Africa with his now estranged brother, Prince Harry.

The award ceremony, to be held on November 6, will set the stage for Prince William's return to South Africa after he and his brother visited the country in June 2010. At the time, they were 27 and 25 years old, respectively, and were the first active royals to embark on a joint tour abroad. As “Hello! magazine reported at the time, the 2010 trip was an opportunity for the famous brothers to “show each other the work that their respective charities and organizations had accomplished” in the region.

While staying together in South Africa, the brothers watched a soccer match between Algeria and England while visiting Cape Town. They also visited Botswana and Lesotho to support their respective patron organizations, Tusk Trust and Sentebale.

Prince Harry has since returned to the region, but the two remain estranged as tensions in the royal family continue to rise with Prince Harry's abdication from the British throne and the subsequent publication of his memoir, Spare.

As for Prince William, his return to South Africa will be a significant moment not only for the current royal family, but also for his wife, Princess Kate, and her family. Now that Kate Middleton has completed preventive chemotherapy for an unspecified cancer, Prince William's solo trip abroad is reportedly a sign that Middleton is healthy enough to leave her husband's side.

“Princess Catherine, as she so movingly told us, is undergoing preventive chemotherapy for cancer, and although her chemotherapy has finished, she says she still has a long way to go,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk in a recent interview.

William would definitely not go to South Africa, even for the fourth Earthshot Awards ceremony, unless he felt she was well and content to deal with her family while he was away.”

Fitzwilliams continued that the South Africa event was “his idea,” but that if he felt his wife was too ill to make the trip, he would prioritize his devotion to her.

“We know they are a devoted couple and what his priorities are.

As for the brothers and their relationship, all reports indicate that their estrangement has not changed. However, those closest to the royal family say there is hope for a future reconciliation.

Recently, a royal source gave an exclusive interview to People, saying that although the rift is “very bad,” it is not “irreparable.”