The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dazzled at last night’s Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. Kate, wearing the same Alexander McQueen dress she wore to the BAFTAs ten years ago, presented the final award of the evening. She delivered an impassioned speech about the need to do something about the state of the Earth, or risk “permanently destabilising” our planet.

       Prince William, meanwhile, took to the stage in a green velvet jacket which he had worn several times before.

       Attendees had been asked to “consider the environment when choosing their outfit” for the ceremony.

       William and Kate, as the most prominent senior royals below the age of 50, face the daunting task of ensuring the monarchy survives in the long term.

       Royal commentator and expert Daniela Elser wrote in the New Zealand Herald last year that the Cambridges face “one hell of an uphill battle, both practically and image-wise”.

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       At 39, William and Kate are three decades younger than the average age of a working senior royal.

       Ms Elser wrote the “thrill is gone” within the Firm, something that was “dramatically exacerbated” by the coronavirus pandemic.

       Gone were the state dinners and glitzy tours, instead replaced by zoom calls and working from home.

       “The magic is gone,” said Ms Elser. “And that is a very dangerous place for the Palace to be.

       “This is all even worse news for William and Kate because it will largely fall on their Marks and Spencer-clad shoulders to have to try and find a way to fix this looming disaster and revive some of the dazzle.”

       The situation has only been compounded by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as senior royals, she explained. They relocated to the US to begin leading their own independent lives.

       Ms Elser said of their departure: “Gone with them went the Royal Family’s most electrifying ‘hire’ since Lady Diana Spencer first cast her famous doe-eyes towards the Prince of Wales.”

       Meghan’s “innative vivifying force” is no longer there to “energise” the royal brand.

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       Ms Elser added: “She made the very notion of a hereditary monarchy seem not only interesting but relevant to younger generations.

       “It was an image refresh for the Palace the likes of which they would never have managed to pull off on their own and the arrival of the Duchess of Sussex on the Buckingham Palace balcony was a branding coup so exquisite it would make both the Saatchis weep with joy.”

       Prince Charles has been plotting to slim down the focus of the monarchy when he becomes King.

       Royal author Dr Ed Owens told Express.co.uk Charles wishes to keep more marginal royals “at the fringes”.

       He said: “He doesn’t want them to hog too much attention because they’re often liabilities. This is very much part of a bigger public relations strategy with a greater emphasis on the line of succession.”

       As a result, William’s cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, both in their early thirties, will be somewhat pushed aside.

       Ms Elser wrote both the consequences of Charles’ decision and the current state of the “ageing, royal labour pool” could be disastrous amid “creeping passivity and indifference to the lot of them”.

       She added: “And it’s here that things get particularly rough for Kate, because it is going to fall to her and William to revive our flagging interest in the Royal Family, a challenge that is going to only get that much steeper when the Queen, who is widely beloved, passes away and King Charles III takes the throne.”

       She explained Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis may need to be introduced sooner than Kate might have liked.

       “They will need all hands on the royal deck” to shore up public support, she said.

       A recent Mail on Sunday poll found 41 percent of voters think William should succeed the Queen, compared to just 30 percent for Charles.

       The poll also found Harry to be the royal readers would most like to go for a drink with.

       The Duke of Sussex was chosen by 19 percent of respondents, closely followed by his brother with 15 percent of the vote, and Kate with 10 percent.