The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance on an Earthshot Prize edition of The Graham Norton Show, which will air on BBC One on Friday.
William joined Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham on the sofa to gasps from the audience to speak about the environmental award, which connects all four guests.
Mumbai will stage the Earthshot Prize next month where the future king will meet Bollywood stars as he learns about India’s hugely popular film industry, play with cricketing royalty and preside over the ceremony awarding £5 million in prize money.
Alongside the global finalists, children across India were encouraged to tackle environmental issues this year under the “I can Earthshot Challenge”.
William’s project is halfway through its decades-long cycle to recognise and reward issues and ideas to help save the planet and the event has already been staged in London, Singapore, Cape Town, Boston and Rio de Janeiro.
The Prince of Wales, Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin during filming (Matt Crossick/Press Association)
Since its launch in 2021 he has attracted a host of stars including the other members of the Norton sofa on Thursday.
Blanchett is an Earthshot Prize council member, Irwin is a global ambassador for the prize and Waddingham hosted the 2023 Earthshot awards in Singapore.
William spoke with Norton and the others about the origins of the prize, and its role in identifying and supporting innovators around the world.
He said: “For many years I was hearing stories about environment issues and one thing that struck me was the negativity and doom which got me down.
“I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic and the idea of an awards’ ceremony came about and we could talk about urgency and optimism together.
“It’s all about getting excited.”
Blanchett described the Prize as a “tapestry of solutions”, while Irwin spoke about the role the prize has played in building a new generation of environmental advocates.
Away from the prize, William also spoke about enjoying Celebrity Traitors, and wanting to be a policeman, and a DJ when he was younger.
Singer Jorja Smith performs Dancing live in the studio before joining the group on the sofa for a chat.
The Earthshot Prize edition of The Graham Norton Show will air tomorrow evening at 22.40 on BBC One as part of the countdown to the awards next month.