Prince William sends message to Earthshot Prize finalists
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Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to "redress the balance" when they touch down in the US on Wednesday - where the Royal Family has endured a "bumpy ride of late". The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 40, jet off to Boston for the Earthshot Prize ceremony in what has been described by a royal source as William’s “super bowl moment”.
The future King will hand out awards of £1 million each to five environmentalists to assist with their upcoming projects.
Speaking about the ceremony, Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, discussed the opportunity, suggesting the Firm may have been impacted stateside by Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 - as well as depictions of royal life in Netflix series The Crown.
“You could say that the royal family, particularly as far as America is concerned, have had a bit of a bumpy ride of late,’’ he told AP.
“They’ve come in for huge amounts of criticism on the back of ‘The Crown’ and also the Oprah Winfrey interview, which has not particularly reflected well on the House of Windsor, so I think it’s a good opportunity whilst they’re in the US to sort of redress the balance if at all possible.”
Kate and William will visit the US on Wednesday (Image: Getty)
It comes just three days before Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan Markle, 41, are scheduled to receive an award at a separate ceremony in New York City for their humanitarian work.
A meeting between the royal couples has not been confirmed, though William and Kate are on a three-day trip, commencing on Wednesday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are yet to confirm whether they will accept the RFK Ripple of Hope Award, to be announced on December 6.
Commenting on William’s overseas trip, a royal source added: “The prize has become the prince's Superbowl moment of the year, and he looks forward to continuing to use the platform each year to shine a light on some of the most impactful projects doing amazing things around the world to save our planet's future.”
READ MORE: Kate and William have 'no plans' to see Meghan and Harry in US
Mr Little said the couple came under fire on the back of The Crown and Harry and Megan's interview (Image: Getty)
William and Kate’s trip is their first venture to the US in eight years.
They will remain in Boston for three days, carrying out public engagements before announcing the prize winners on Friday in a ceremony headlined by pop star Billie Eilish.
But as much as the royals try to focus on the prize, William is likely to face questions about Harry and Meghan, who have lived in the US since stepping back from their senior roles in the Firm in 2020.
This was followed by their bombshell Oprah interview in March last year, during which the Sussexes made a series of claims against the royal institution.
Netflix series The Crown has also resurrected some of the more troubled times of the House of Windsor just as the Royal Family tries to show that it remains relevant in modern, multicultural Britain following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple have come under criticism in recent times in the US, the royal writer claimed (Image: Getty)
During their visit to the States, Kate and William will be raising awareness of environmental issues, meeting with local organisations responding to rising sea levels in Boston and visiting Greentown Labs in Somerville, Massachusetts.
They will also visit an incubator hub where local entrepreneurs are working on projects to combat climate change.
The Waleses are set to meet with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and visit the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum with the late president’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy.
Ahead of their visit, Kensington Palace released a statement, which read: "The prince and princess are looking forward to spending time in Boston, and to learning more about the issues that are affecting local people, as well as to celebrating the incredible climate solutions that will be spotlighted through the Earthshot Prize."
Earthshot offers one million pounds ($1.2 million) in prize money to the winners of five separate categories: nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change. The winners and all 15 finalists also receive help in expanding their projects to meet global demand.
Mr Little said they could use the visit to redress the balance in the US (Image: Getty)
Among the finalists is a startup from Kenya which aims to provide cleaner-burning stoves to make cooking safer and reduce indoor air pollution. It was the brainchild of Charlot Magayi, who grew up in one of Nairobi’s largest slums and sold charcoal for fuel.
When her daughter was severely burned by a charcoal-fired stove in 2012, she developed a stove which uses a safer fuel made from a combination of charcoal, wood and sugarcane. The stoves cut costs for users, reduce toxic emissions and lower the risk of burns, Magayi says.
Other finalists include Fleather, a project in India that creates an alternative to leather out of floral waste, Hutan, an effort to protect orangutans in Malaysia, and SeaForester, which seeks to restore kelp forests which capture carbon and promote biodiversity.
The winners will be announced Friday at Boston’s MGM Music Hall as part of a glitzy show headlined by Eilish, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding and Chloe x Halle. It will include a video narrated by naturalist David Attenborough and actor Cate Blanchett.