Prince William wants to move away from 'ribbon-cutting' and focus on 'projects not patronages', royal insiders claim - as heir champions several campaigns on homelessness and environmentalism
The Prince of Wales wants to move away from 'ribbon-cutting' and focus on work with tangible impact, royal insiders have claimed.
Speaking to The Times, sources have alleged that William, 42, wants to reframe his role as being one for 'projects not patronages' - which is why his efforts to champion the Earthshot Prize, and similar initiatives, have been so ardent.
William Hague, a former cabinet minister who has worked with the royal for more than ten years, recounted the heir's 'passion and persuasion' when they were both setting up United for Wildlife, which aims to protect endangered species from illegal trade.
'He phoned me up when I left government. He's got this idea, which is that governments are doing this slow work on the illegal wildlife trade. Why don't we get the private sector to see what it can do to stop it?' Mr Hague revealed.
'He had noticed when I was foreign secretary that I took up wildlife issues and the illegal wildlife trade and he came to a conference that I had organised at Lancaster House.'
'In private as well as in speeches and interviews, he really leaves you in no doubt that this is what he wants you to do and that you're really crucial to it,' the former politician continued.
'He's not one for long meetings or going around the same thing again... I've often heard him say, "There's been too much talk about that. We need to see some action." He is friendly to deal with and personable. [But] you really wouldn't want to go and tell him, "We've got absolutely nowhere in stopping elephant ivory being sold." He wants to know that you're getting results.'
The Prince launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, with the aim of making huge strides towards fixing environmental problems within a decade.
A nod to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 'moonshot' project which led to the 1969 lunar landing, its goal is to find innovations to combat climate and other green issues, and awards five winners £1million each to drive their projects.
This year's awards ceremony will be held shortly before the UN climate summit COP30 which also takes place in Brazil in November.
'I'm pleased to announce we're going to be in Brazil in 2025,' William said in a video to accompany the announcement.
'We need urgent optimism now more than ever, and I think Brazil epitomises that, and I can't believe we are at the half way point of 10 years.'
Previous awards ceremonies have been held in London, Boston, Singapore, and Cape Town, backed by global organisations and philanthropists.
Among the famous faces who also featured in the Earthshot video were actress Cate Blanchett, model Heidi Klum, Brazil's most capped football and World Cup winner Cafu, and former England football captain David Beckham.
'I'm so, so excited ... (Brazil) - where nature and culture go hand in hand,' David said during the clip.
Global ambassador Robert Irwin, son of conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, and Hannah Waddingham also featured in the footage.
The prince's attendance at the Earthshot Prize is expected to be confirmed nearer the time but if the visit coincides with the gathering of world leaders for the UN event the future king could be among them.
To mark the announcement, William said: '2025 marks the midway point of the Earthshot decade and each year we've witnessed the remarkable power of human ingenuity in addressing our planet's most pressing challenges.
'As we bring the Earthshot Prize to Brazil, a nation rich in biodiversity and environmental innovation, we are seeing fresh momentum for new ideas to create healthier and safer ways to live our lives.
'It is an honour to profile the people making our world a better place for us and for our children.'
William is the driving force behind the annual environmental competition and has attended all the presentation events since launching the initiative.
Cape Town staged the most recent awards ceremony last November after prize-giving events were held in Singapore in 2023, Boston in 2022 and London's Alexandra Palace in 2021.
The Princess of Wales joined her husband at two of the events, the one in the British capital and the ceremony held in the States.
Prince William founded the prize to recognise and scale-up ideas to help 'repair' the planet, with the five winning finalists each awarded £1 million to further develop their ideas.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots – Protect and restore nature; Clean our air, Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate.
Recent months have also seen William make his focus on other initiatives clear.
In October, he revealed he took 'inspiration' and 'guidance' from his mother Princess Diana in his work to end homelessness, where he was also seen giving out hugs while visiting a charity.
Speaking in an ITV documentary titled Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the Prince of Wales showed the behind the scenes journey of his campaign Homewards, which charted the first year of the project.
The future king has set his sights on making rough sleeping, sofa surfing and temporary accommodation a thing of the past in his ambitious five-year initiative programme.
'I've slowly tried to work out what I can bring to the role and platform that I have,' he explained.
'I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did, particularly with homelessness.
'I don't believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century.'
William also described it as a 'unique opportunity' to create lasting change, as he builds on the legacy of his late mother Princess Diana.
He has long been passionate about the issue of homelessness and is royal patron of charity The Passage, after visiting one of their shelters with his mother when he was 11.
In 2009 he spent a night sleeping rough to understand the plight of the homeless at Christmas and has joined a Big Issue seller at his pitch for the last two years in a row.
Homewards brings together a range of organisations to develop solutions in Newport, South Wales, three neighbouring Dorset towns, Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, the south London Borough of Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield.
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