Prince and Princess of Wales are “passionate about protecting the planet”

THE Prince and Princess of Wales are “passionate about protecting the planet” according to a leading environmentalist.

Earthshot Prize winner Sam Tiecher said Prince William and Princess Kate are determined to “leave a legacy” behind them in the area of conservation.

Coral Vita co-founder, Sam, was speaking after he spent time with the couple planting coral during a private trip in the Bahamas.

He told GB News: “They are really passionate about protecting the planet. They want to leave a legacy behind that, not only the natural world, but humanity can benefit from. They are pretty phenomenal free divers, I got to say, and they didn’t want to stop planting corals. It was a shame they had a flight to catch because I don’t think they wanted to get out of the water.”

“It was big smiles. They asked me how we can plant these corals faster? What are we going to do to make this an easier process? What are the species of corals we are planting into the reefs? What marine life is around us?”

Sam’s company won £1 million during Prince William’s Earthshot Prize last year. Coral Vita is working to restore the world’s dying coral reefs, and Prince William and Princess Catherine visited during their tour of the Caribbean to mark the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in March 2022.

Following the public engagement, Sam escorted the royal couple on a private visit to plant corals in the sea.

He added: “We also talked about just how crystal clear the waters were in the Bahamas. It was a really special moment to be able to share that with them and I hope they enjoyed it as well.”

Prince William became British Sub Aqua Club’s president in 2014, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

An experienced diver, His Royal Highness said at the time that “Scuba diving really has opened my eyes not only to many extraordinary sights, but also to the responsibilities that we have as guardians of the underwater world”.

Princess Catherine qualified as an advanced scuba diver in 2015, according to media reports.

This week, The Prince and Princess of Wales are travelling to Boston to attend Prince William’s Earthshot Prize award ceremony on Friday 2nd December.

Finalists from across the planet will join an A-List line-up, including performances by Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding and Chloe.x.Halle.

Hollywood star Rami Malek, Emmy-award winning actor and comedian Catherine O’Hara, actor and activist Shailene Woodley will present prizes.

When he launched the prize last year, the Prince was keen to create a sense of “urgent optimism” to encourage people to find solutions to repair our planet over the next decade.

Annually, the winner of each category (Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste Free World, Fix Our Climate) receives a £1million prize.

The “Moonshot” challenge was set by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to meet the seemingly impossible task to land a man on the moon.

Prince William was inspired by that achievement and established The Earthshot Prize to restore our natural world.

The visit is being dubbed as a “trip”, rather than a traditional “royal tour”.

It’s understood the Prince and Princess were keen to spend extra time in the city to meet the local community and see some of the work being done around climate change and the environment in Boston.

In recent years, Prince William has increased his global leadership on the environment.

He used his platform at G7, COP26 and the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to champion the environment.

Earthshot is being seen as a big moment for him on the world stage, and it’s understood he spoke to South African President Cyril Rhamaphosa about the Prize during the State Visit earlier this week.

Prince William and Princess Catherine last visited the United States in 2014, before Megxit and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

It will be their first international trip since taking on their news roles as Prince and Princess of Wales.

Their Royal Highnesses will meet Boston based indigenous leaders and some of the most hard-pressed communities in the Boston area.

Their Royal Highnesses will visit Roca, a non-profit organisation which helps young people at risk of violence or prison improve their life chances.

Kate will also champion The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood by visiting The Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University, as part of her work to highlight how the first years of life can shape future outcomes.

The second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony which is taking place at the MGM Music Hall in Boston on Friday 2nd December.

The Ceremony will be broadcast around the world on Sunday 4th December.