Prince William arrived in Cape Town on Monday for a four-day visit to South Africa focused on his annual Earthshot Prize, which honours environmental innovators.
Prince William arrived in Cape Town on Monday for a four-day visit to South Africa focused on his annual Earthshot Prize, which honours environmental innovators.
During his trip, the heir to the British throne will attend a global wildlife summit and meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This marks his first visit to South Africa since 2010, Reuters reported.
On Wednesday, he’ll take part in the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, where five winners will each receive £1 million (about $1.3 million) to support their projects tackling climate change and other environmental challenges.
William launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020 after being inspired by a trip to Namibia. The name pays tribute to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s ambitious “moonshot” project, which ultimately led to the lunar landing in 1969.
What Prince William said:
“By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues,” he said in a statement ahead of the visit.
“Africa has always held a special place in my heart—it’s where I found comfort as a teenager and where I proposed to my wife,” Prince William stated. In 2010, during a romantic trip to Kenya, he proposed to Catherine, making the continent even more meaningful to the couple.
Making this trip solo, William is representing the royal family while Kate is easing back into work after completing a course of preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
