Prince William has expressed his hope that his three children will be 'proud' of his Earthshot Prize awards, which aim to save the planet, as he prepares to present million-pound prizes to the winners in Cape Town tonight. The Prince also paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife Kate Middleton, who has recently completed eight months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, stating: "She's been amazing this whole year".
The future king emphasised his belief that the awards embody optimism as the planet enters a crucial phase. This morning, William met with the 15 finalists of his global environmental awards at the stunning Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, located at the base of the iconic Table Mountain, assuring them "we are here for you".
He praised their planet-saving solutions, which will be showcased to millions during a dazzling ceremony tonight in Cape Town, broadcast live on YouTube for the first time. He revealed that he had involved his children "along that journey" of becoming more conscious of our role in preserving the planet.
In an interview with the BBC, William expressed his affection for Africa and thanked South Africans for their "exuberance and energy" in hosting the fourth annual awards. He spoke of his aspiration to focus on the next generation - particularly Gen-Z - and revealed he is teaching his children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, five, the fundamentals of environmentalism, reports the Mirror.
He commented: "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.
"And I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can."
Discussing the ambitious nature of the Earthshot Prize, which intends to distribute five £1million prizes over ten years for solutions that benefit our planet, he continued: "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."
During his visit to Cape Town this week, William was seen wearing a handmade bracelet, a token from his daughter. He disclosed that it was a souvenir from a memorable Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium attended earlier in the year with Prince George, adding: "Well, this is a this is a, I think, 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 I would wear it and try not to lose it while I was out here."
Paying homage to the Princess of Wales, who has been on leave since the start of the year due to hospitalisation for abdominal surgery and a subsequent cancer diagnosis, Prince William shared that she would be keenly following the awards from their Windsor home. When asked about her condition, the future king responded: "She's doing really well thanks. And hopefully she is watching tonight, so cheering me on. She's been amazing this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success."
As he gears up for his "Super Bowl" moment by launching the awards in Africa for the first time, he expressed gratitude for the warm welcome received during the week.
He added: "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."
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William also spoke of his belief that the awards embody "optimism" as the planet enters a crucial stage.
He said: "I think everyone wants some hope and wants some optimism. I think the Earthshot encompasses urgent optimism. That's what we're here for. 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. 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."
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