Royal news: William and Kate announce Earthshot Prize winners as trip overshadowed by palace racism row

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trailer for new Netflix documentary dropped early on Thursday

Joe Biden shakes hands with Prince William in Boston

The Prince and Princess of Wales awarded the 2022 Earthshot Prize awards at a ceremony in Boston amid a three-day trip to the US.

Prince William awarded the £1m prize to five innovators tackling the climate crisis.

Earlier, William met US president Joe Biden before touring the JFK Library with Caroline Kennedy as the Princess of Wales made a solo visit to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child in Cambridge on Friday.

Meanwhile, sources close to Prince William and Princess Kate have apparently nicknamed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “the Kardashians” in a sharp response to the trailer for their new Netflix documentary series.

The Times reported that “royal insiders” believe that Harry and Meghan “deliberately torpedoed” William and Kate’s visit to the US by allowing the streaming giant to release the first look of the documentary during the US visit.

Key points

• William and Kate announce Earthshot Prize winners
• William and Kate sources nickname Meghan and Harry the ‘Kardashians’
• William meets with Joe Biden in Boston
• William and Kate soldier on with climate tour despite Netflix bombshell and palace racism row
• Prince William’s godmother, a Buckingham Palace aide, resigns amid racism row

[3 December 2022 04:00 · Meredith Clark]

New role gives William opportunity to speak out on the environment

Now that he is king, Charles is expected to be more careful with his words and must stay out of politics and government policy, in accordance with the traditions of Britain’s constitutional monarchy. This year, he did not attend the U.N. climate conference in Egypt.

The caution presents an opportunity for William to step into that role as the royal family’s environmental advocate and speak more forcefully about the issues once associated with his father.

There is no better example than the Earthshot Prize.

“It’s a huge deal to Prince William,” Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine. “He knows he can attract attention from the most important people. That really is the core of the Boston trip.”

After attending a welcome event Wednesday at City Hall and then a Boston Celtics game, the royal couple spent much of Thursday hearing about the threats of climate change and solutions in the works.

[3 December 2022 05:00 · Meredith Clark]

William: I want to supercharge Earthshot impact to inspire ‘despairing world’

The Prince of Wales has declared he wants to “supercharge” the impact of his Earthshot Prize finalists to inspire a “despairing world” that there is a way forward.

William described himself as a “stubborn optimist” in an article published a few hours before the awards ceremony for his environmental prize, being staged in the US city of Boston, was due to begin.

Global star Billie Eilish will lead a stellar entertainment line-up during a ceremony – dubbed the prince’s “world cup” moment – that aims to celebrate and scale up environmental solutions to repair the planet.

Former England and Manchester United footballer David Beckham will present one of the five awards with each category winner receiving £1 million to develop their project.

Writing in the Huffington Post, the future King said about the finalists: “The Earthshot Prize wants to find the best of them. We want to celebrate and support them, so that we not only supercharge their positive impact but also demonstrate to a despairing world that there is an optimistic way forward.

[3 December 2022 06:00 · Meredith Clark]

William and Kate sources nickname Meghan and Harry the ‘Kardashians’ in sharp response to Netflix trailer

Sources close to Prince William and Princess Kate have apparently nicknamed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “the Kardashians” in a sharp response to the trailer for their new Netflix documentary series.

The Times report that “royal insiders” believe that Harry and Meghan “deliberately torpedoed” William and Kate’s visit to the US by allowing the streaming giant to release the first look of the documentary during the US visit.

William and Kate’s trip was “derailed for the second day running by external events,” the outlet said.

On Wednesday, the big royal news story was the resignation of royal household member Lady Susan Hussey following her “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments” to a Black charity boss.

A source told The Times that Harry and Meghan had been nicknamed “the Kardashians” because “they want all the attention they can possibly get”.

[3 December 2022 07:00 · Meredith Clark]

VOICES: Don’t excuse racism from old people – we’re not all like Lady Hussey

The Independent’s recent story of the royal racism row over “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments” made to a Black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse is both shocking and surprising.

The resignation of the late Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, over reported racist comments is not surprising. These sort of comments are completely unacceptable. The most extraordinary thing is the avalanche of ageism it has unleashed, with the hashtag #Shes83 trending on Twitter – that seems to have people assuming most older people are racist.

I’m in my seventies – and it is deeply offensive to classify people as having racist views just because they are old. At Action For Elders, our motto is #ThinkDifferentlyAboutAgeing and for many years we have fought very hard against age-related stereotypes.

[3 December 2022 07:30 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Joe Biden shakes hands with Prince William in Boston

President Joe Biden vigorously shook hands with Prince William in their first official encounter since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Watch:

[3 December 2022 07:31 · Kate Ng]

Who are the five Earthshot Prize winners?

The Prince of Wales has named five winners for his prestigious Earthshot Prize.

Each winner will receive £1m to help them develop their innovation that Prince William believes will “overcome our planet’s greatest challenges”.

Here are the winners and what their solutions are:

Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya

This female-founded business produces stoves fired by process biomass made from charcoal, wood and sugarcane instead of solid fuels. According to the Earthshot Prize,t he latter can lead to air pollution and accidents that claim four million lives every year. The business was awarded the Earthshot Prize for the “Clean Our Air” category.

Kheyti, India

Greenhouse-in-a-Box, created by Kaushik Kappagantulu from India, helps small-hold farmers protect their crops from extreme weather and pests. India has been severely impacted by climate change. It was awarded the Earthshot Prize for the category “Protect and Restore Nature”.

Notpla, UK

A company called Notpla, founded by Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, has created a natural, biodegradable plastic made from seaweed. Notpla has made more than a million takeaway food boxes for food delivery platform Just Eat this year. They won the Earthshot Prize for the category “Built a Waste-free World”.

Australia

The Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia run a programme that has trained more than 60 women in both traditional and digital ocean conservation methods. They won the Earthshot Prize for the category “Revive Our Oceans”.

44.01, Oman

Talal Hasan from Oman launched project 44.01, which aims to turn carbon dioxide into peridotite, a rock found in abundance in Oman and around the world. It offers a low-cost and safe alternative to traditional methods of storing carbon, which include burying it underground in disused oil wells. He won the Earthshot Prize fr the category “Fix Our Climate”.

[3 December 2022 08:00 · Meredith Clark]

Meghan and Harry fans hit out as William and Kate sources nickname them ‘the Kardashians’

Fans have defended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after sources close to Prince William and Kate Middleton nicknamed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “the Kardashians”.

On Friday,The Times reported that “royal insiders” believe that Harry and Meghan “deliberately torpedoed” the Prince and Princess of Wales’ trip to the US by allowing Netflix to release the trailer for their documentary series, Harry and Meghan.

The teaser came out on Thursday, while William and Kate have been in Boston for the Earthshot Prize Ceremony, which gives $1m to projects aiming to solve climate problems by 2030.

A source also told The Times that Harry and Meghan had been nicknamed “the Kardashians” because “they want all the attention they can possibly get”.

“They are two people who are accepting awards for themselves, talking about themselves, doing programmes about themselves,” the source claimed.

[3 December 2022 08:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Kate thanks fan who spent a thousand dollars to meet her for seconds in Boston

The Princess of Wales thanked a woman who spent a thousand dollars travelling to meet the royal for a few seconds in Boston.

Allison Morgan, 37, who traveled from Williamsburg, Virginia, to see the couple, said: “She thanked us for coming out in the cold. It was worth every cent. I’m a huge fan of the royals. My mum was a fan of Diana and my grandmother a fan of the Queen. It is a family tradition.”

[3 December 2022 09:20 · Kate Ng]

Princess Kate says Boston ‘has been so friendly’ despite NYT report

The New York Times may have found Bostonians to be indifferent to the royal couple’s visit, but the Princess of Wales had a very different experience during her walkabout.

Princess Kate was greeted by dozens of well-wishers after her visit to Harvard University and said everyone in the city “has been so friendly”.

[3 December 2022 10:20 · Kate Ng]

Fans compare Prince William and Kate Middleton’s photo in rain to Harry and Meghan’s viral umbrella picture

Fans are comparing the Prince and Princess of Wales’ latest photo to an old image of William’s brother, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle, posing in the rain.

The royal couple recently posted an image showing Wiliam with his back turned as he stands in front of the podium while it’s raining. His wife, who also had her back turned, could be seen standing behind him.

Amber Raiken has the details: