‘This is just the start’: Prince William aims Earthshot Prize at the US

The Duke of Cambridge is to take his Earthshot Prize stateside, launching it to the American public as he tells a celebrity magazine it is “just the start”.

The Duke has shared intimate behind-the-scenes photographs of himself and the Duchess backstage at this year’s awards, published in People magazine, as he promotes his environmental prize to a US audience.

Giving exclusive pictures and a short interview to the magazine, he said he was “thrilled” to take the prize to America next year “where we will continue to spread this vital message of urgency, optimism and action”.

People, which is read by roughly 3.5 million Americans, is the leading celebrity publication in the US.

It is where the Duchess of Sussex’s “five friends” offered their now-famous defence of her, disclosing the letter she had sent her father ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry.

The Sussexes have since moved to the US, looking to conquer the hearts and minds of the Duchess’s fellow Americans as they embark on their new lives outside the Royal family.

News of the Earthshot Prize ceremony being held in the US suggests that the Cambridges will now explore the possibility of a North American tour next year.

The inaugural Earthshot Prize explicitly banned guests from flying in for the ceremony, meaning the Cambridges will either appear via video link next year or plan a Canadian-US tour to coincide with a 2022 prize-giving.

In an interview with People, the Duke spoke of the pressing need to combat climate change, saying: “The urgency of the situation can’t be overstated. But through the Earthshot Prize, I want to show people across the world why there is reason to be hopeful.”

Of taking the prize to the US, he added: “This is just the start. I’m thrilled that in 2022, the Earthshot Prize will be heading to the United States, where we will continue to spread this vital message of urgency, optimism and action.”