Prince William praised for response when questioned over Uncle Andrew controversy

Prince William has been praised for the way he handled a question about the controversy surrounding his disgraced uncle, Andrew.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been embroiled in scandal thanks to his connections with a convicted sex offender, the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, leading to Andrew being stripped of his 'style, titles and honours' by his big brother King Charles.

This week, the Prince of Wales was being interviewed for a 'fireside' conversation with CNN as part of his trip to Brazil to promote the Earthshot Prize.

Journalist Christiane Amanpour couldn't let the chat pass without asking some tough questions about his disgraced uncle, as well as his thoughts on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

She asked the future king about one of his recent comments, where Prince William said he would make 'change for good' his priority when he ascends to the throne.

But he would not be drawn into speaking explicitly about his Uncle, instead taking the diplomatic route.

Prince William was asked about his uncle and brother (Photo by Aaron Chown-Pool/Getty Images)

William instead spoke enthusiastically of his wish to be surrounded by people 'who want to do good'.

The journalist referred to William's recent interview with Eugene Levy and pressed him to elaborate on the remarks he made, 'given there has been a lot of change in your family recently'.

William ignored the question, instead choosing to focus on 'the brilliant people in this room' for Earthshot, where celebrities including Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue were also in attendance.

Kylie also praised William and the charity, as 'amazing people doing incredible things'.

William called the charity supporters the real 'action heroes' and said they had more power than him, insisting 'change will come from backing them not by what I do'.

Prince William was joined by celebs including Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes at the awards ceremony (Photo by Ian Vogler - Pool/Getty Images)

The Prince of Wales added: "I want to surround myself with people who want to make change and do good in the world," which was met with loud cheers from the audience.

Royal experts are impressed by his diplomatic response, with one anonymously telling the Daily Mail: "Unlike Harry, William doesn't air the family laundry in public," they said, seemingly having a dig at his estranged brother.

Prince William also stressed the importance of leadership and positivity for his own children, as well as those around the world.

"You have to provide a leadership and a vision that there's good things to come and it's not all negative," he insisted.

"And for my children, particularly, knowing that the planet's going to be in a better, healthier state because of the people in this room is something I love to tell them when they go to bed – it's going to be great, your future is going to be as bright as futures gone by and that's a really important message for all us to hear," he added, speaking of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Prince William's uncle, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, has been stripped of his royal titles and honours following the scandal (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

He continued: "A world without hope and a world without positivity is a pretty depressing place."

William is firmly looking to the future rather than the past with his family, and during a speech at the awards, he said: "I understand that some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times. I understand that there is still so much to be done.

"But this is no time for complacency, and the optimism I felt in 2020 [when he set up the awards], remains ardent today.

"Because our finalists are a shining example of how we can build stronger economies, design healthier cities, and create better jobs for the next generation."