Prince William becomes first royal to appear on Graham Norton show in surprise appearance
The Prince of Wales has been bestowed the title of being the first member of his family to appear on the red sofa with Graham Norton as he sat beside a line-up of A-listers who all shared an unexpected connection.
Prince William left the audience gasping when he casually walked out on stage during The Graham Norton Show, which is set to air tonight (23 October).
It marks the first time that a Royal has appeared on Graham Norton's talk show, which debuted in 2007.
According to The Independent and the BBC, the prince came on the show yesterday and discussed the need to be optimistic when talking about climate change as he explained the Earthshot Prize project he set up in 2020.
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Founded by William with the aim to 'celebrate and scale the solutions that will repair our planet,' the Earthshot Prize reportedly was inspired by US President John F Kennedy's Moonshot project.
But instead of challenging scientists to get to the moon faster, this one has five environmental goals – or Earthshots if you will.
Annually, it awards a prize of £1 million in each of the five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.
With William's project set to run until 2030, it's going to be interesting to see what comes from it.
In the episode which will be available to see on BBC One at 10.40pm tonight, William, Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham will join Norton on the red sofas.
Despite the lineup on the sofa appearing to be random, there's something that connects all of them.
The prize.
Since its launch in 2021, each of the celebrities have had something to do with it.
For example, actress Waddingham hosted the 2023 Earthshot Awards in Singapore, Irwin is then a global ambassador for the prize, and finally, Blanchett is on the Earthshot Prize council.
Speaking about the prize and why it was created, William 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.”
According to the project's site, the Earthshot Prize Summit will 'bring together environmental and business leaders, investors and philanthropists to drive forward bold solutions to repair our planet' and is planned to take place on 17 November.
There, five Earthshot Finalists will each be granted the £1 million fund 'to accelerate the impact of their innovative solutions.'
Topics: Royal Family, Prince William, Graham Norton, Environment
Britt Jones