Prince William today said he hopes his children are ‘proud’ of his Earthshot Prize ahead of the glitzy environmental awards ceremony in Cape Town tonight.
The Prince of Wales also said he hoped Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and his wife the Princess of Wales would be watching back home.
William was speaking to the BBC and Sky News as he prepared to host his fourth annual Earthshot Awards designed to highlight and scale up the best solutions on the planet to the current environmental crisis.
He also said Kate was ‘doing really well, paying tribute to how she had been ‘amazing’ during her tough year of cancer treatment.
‘She’s doing really well thanks. And… hopefully she is watching tonight. So cheering me on. She’s been she’s been amazing this whole this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success,’ he said.
William said that he and his family, like so many, have conversations about trying to ‘do what they can’ at home.
Prince William spoke to the BBC and Sky News about his wife the Princess of Wales as he prepared to host his fourth annual Earthshot Awards in Cape Town this evening
The Prince and Princess of Wales in Norfolk with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a handout still issued by Kensington Palace on September 9
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Southport Community Centre on October 10
William also spoke today about the friendship bracelet he has been seen wearing bearing the word ‘Papa’ on, made for him by his daughter Charlotte, which he has ‘promised’ not to lose
The purpose-built Earthshot Prize Dome is seen from Signal Hill in Cape Town this afternoon
The prince said: ‘Yeah, well, you know, every family tries to do what they can to sort of help with the environment.
‘We go through all the basics of recycling and making sure we minimise water use and turning off lights when we leave the house and stuff like that, and making sure, which is sensible in what we do around the environment.
‘I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can. ‘
‘The Earthshot Prize has got to be a bit more global than that. We are trying to do big scale ambition and big scale business to tackle some of the solutions.
‘But I brought the children along that journey and tonight I hope they are watching and they are proud of kind of what we are try to do here, which is to really galvanise that energy that enthusiasm to make real impact.’
Prince William at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town this morning
Prince William with Earthshot Prize finalists at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden today
He also spoke about the friendship bracelet he has been seen wearing bearing the word ‘Papa’ on, made for him by his daughter Princess Charlotte, which he has ‘promised’ not to lose.
‘Well, this is… a relic, if you like, from a Taylor Swift concert that my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for. She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised that wear it and try not to lose while I was out here,’ he said.
William was infectious in his enthusiasm as he spoke about Earthshot, which he has brought for the first time to Africa this year.
Tonight five winners from across the world will each receive £1million in prize money to develop and scale up their solutions to environmental and climate change issues in a glitzy ceremony which will be broadcast live across Africa and later on BBC iPlayer.
William speaks with Earthshot Prize finalists at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden today
The Prince of Wales holds a Thermovoltaic device, as he speaks with an Earthshot finalist today
Prince William walks with Earthshot chief executive Hannah Jones in Cape Town today
He said: ‘I’ve been greatly looking forward to the time I can bring Earthshot to Africa. I love this continent. And spent many a year looking around exploring it.
‘And just really thrilled to have the reception of the exuberance and energy that’s going to be in this room tonight around Earthshot in South Africa. ‘
Asked about how he could ensure his message lands in a sometimes tough political climate for the environment, he added: ‘I think everyone wants some hope and wants some optimism. I think the Earthshot encompasses urgent optimism. That’s what we’re here for.’
Africa is one of the least polluting continents in the world and yet suffers most from the adverse effects of climate change.
The prince said: ‘And as I think you will see tonight, the amount of youth from Africa who’ll be in here. They’ll be letting you know and letting everyone know that it matters to them.
Prince William yesterday, wearing a ‘Papa’ friendship bracelet made by Princess Charlotte
Taylor Swift poses with with the Prince of Wales and his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte ahead of one of her concerts at Wembley Stadium in London in June. The singer encourages fans to swap home-made beaded bracelets with names or words on
‘And without them, you know, the future is looking pretty bleak. So these are the game changers. These are the innovators. These are the inventors that are going to make the world a better place for us in the future.’
Tonight’s awards will be held in a reusable eco ‘super dome’ with a green carpets for guests who include host Billy Porter and models Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow.
The winners were chosen from nearly 2,500 nominees across 75 countries.