Prince William lands in South Africa for ‘milestone’ Earthshot awards after weekend of royal criticism

After a difficult weekend of headlines about royal finances, Prince William has arrived in South Africa hoping to draw attention back to another milestone moment for his Earthshot Prize.

William flew into Cape Town to kick start a week of events that will culminate with the fourth annual Earthshot awards ceremony on Wednesday.

Over the weekend, the Royal Family faced criticism following a documentary and newspaper investigations about how it uses portfolios of buildings and land through the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall. There were also questions about the monarchy’s social responsibilities.

But William will have only one focus during his weeklong trip to South Africa – his environmental work.

He began his time in Cape Town by meeting young people from across Africa and Asia who’ve been brought over to take part in Earthshot week, praising them for “creating solutions and a better life for all of us”. William wants to publicly show they have his full backing in their endeavours to tackle the climate crisis.

As the work around the Earthshot awards programme expands, organisers have wanted to branch out further this year, not just to celebrate the finalists, but also to increase support for the entrepreneurs of the future.

Africa was chosen to host the fourth award ceremony to celebrate the groundbreaking environmental work already going on in the face of the continent’s vulnerabilities to the climate crisis.

For his first engagement of the trip, William joined more than a hundred young climate campaigners and entrepreneurs at a rooftop bar, overlooking the iconic Table Mountain.

Speaking to the group, he said: “The whole reason we set the Earthshot Prize out is for moments like this. We’ve got all of you in this room who are the future change-makers. You’re the leaders. You are the people who are going to make the difference going forwards.”

He added the “prize is your platform”, telling the group: “We believe in you, and what you’re going to do is change the world. I really believe that this is the generation right here that’s going to do that, and your solutions and your impact are so important and so needed right now.”

The event was designed to emphasise a key focus of the week for Prince William, supporting and encouraging the entrepreneurs of the future.

Wearing a sustainable shirt made by ECOALF, he spent time talking to various groups from across Africa and Asia, and then posed for a selfie with the entire room.

Although he may be used to people being more interested in what the Princess of Wales is dressed in, we’ve been told that this week William will be wearing and showcasing sustainable fashion.

At a penguin and seabird hospital in Cape Town, we caught up with Robert Irwin, the son of Australian conservationist Steve Irwin who was killed by a stingray in 2006.

Robert is continuing his father’s legacy and is a supporter of the Earthshot Prize. He acknowledged the award scheme is a far cry from traditional royal ribbon cutting and plaque unveiling, and says it takes guts for William to speak out.

“The environment in general is very touchy. It’s a touchy subject,” the conservationist said.

“And when we talk about big issues like climate change, there are a lot of opinions, there’s a lot of politics involved as well.

“It is a brave thing to stand up and speak for the environment, speak for those that don’t have a voice. But it’s so incredibly important.”

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Praising Prince William’s efforts to inject optimism into the debate, Robert added: “It’s really impressive and really encouraging to see that someone who obviously has such a great platform and a great influence is utilising that for positive change and to really make real, tangible steps in the right direction to award amazing conservation initiatives and also to create this movement, to create this feeling of hope for society.”

Prince William has travelled to Cape Town without the Princess of Wales following her treatment for cancer and her decision to gradually return to royal duties earlier this year.