Britain’s Prince William has kicked off a climate-focused, four-day visit to South Africa, starting in Cape Town on Monday. The Prince engaged with young environmentalists and joined local

schoolchildren for a rugby session.

The visit centers on the Earthshot Prize, an initiative William launched in 2020 to support innovative environmental solutions. This year, five winners will be awarded £1 million ($1.3 million) each on Wednesday to help advance their impactful projects.

William, 42, began his trip by meeting 120 youth leaders from Africa and Asia involved in a new program tied to the Earthshot Prize. Later, he visited a secondary school in Ocean View township, where he participated in a rugby training session organized by The Atlas Foundation, a charity founded by ex-English rugby star Jason Leonard, aimed at tackling child poverty. The children enthusiastically embraced the moment, shouting, “Let’s tackle the prince!” as they playfully swarmed him. Retired South Africa World Cup champion Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira also joined in.

The Earthshot Prize, inspired by Prince William’s visit to Namibia and named in reference to President John F. Kennedy’s “moonshot” goal that led to the 1969 lunar landing, seeks to accelerate global environmental progress.

Ahead of the visit, Prince William stated, “By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale, and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues.”

The Prince of Wales is traveling solo, as his wife, Kate, continues her recovery from a preventative chemotherapy regimen following a cancer diagnosis.

This is William’s first visit to South Africa since 2010. During the trip, he will also attend an international wildlife summit and meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo by USAID/Vietnam, Wikimedia commons.