Prince William has hailed the Queen’s commitment to the environment, telling thousands of people gathered at Buckingham Palace: “Like her, I am an optimist.”
The Duke of Cambridge was speaking during the Our Green Planet part of the Platinum Party at the Palace.
Noting that his grandmother has been “alive for nearly a century”, he said that “decades of making the case for taking better care of our world has meant that environmental issues are now at the top of the global agenda”.
During her Christmas message in 1989, Her Majesty said the “future of all life on earth depends on how we behave towards one another and how we treat the plants and animals that share our world with us”.
Jubilee live: Stars including Diana Ross perform at Platinum Party at the Palace
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Footage and audio from the Queen’s COP26 message was projected on to the palace, alongside images of the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales.
Her Majesty said last November: “It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet lives on through the work of our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William. I could not be more proud of them.”
William said that he, too, was “so proud” of his father and grandfather.
The duke added: “And I’m in awe of people like the great Sir David Attenborough who look at the beauty and power of our earth and then work to celebrate and preserve it.
“While no one’s grandmother thanks them for talking about their age, my own grandmother has been alive for nearly a century. In that time, mankind has benefited from unimaginable technological developments and scientific breakthroughs.”
The second in line to the throne continued: “And although those breakthroughs have increased our awareness of the impact humans have on our world, our planet has become more fragile.
“Today, in 2022 – as The Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee – the pressing need to protect and restore our planet has never been more urgent.
“But like her, I am an optimist.”
William said that “more and more businesses and politicians are answering the call” on climate change, which is “spearheaded by an amazing and united generation of young people across the world”.
He went on: “Together, if we harness the very best of humankind, and restore our planet, we will protect it for our children, for our grandchildren and for future generations to come.”
More than 30 members of the Royal Family have gathered for the party, although the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who attended the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday – are absent.
Diana Ross, Queen and Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys and Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder have been performing to a crowd of 22,000 people and a television audience of millions.
