Like his father before him, Prince William is hugely passionate about conservation and the environment. In fact, the cause is so important to the heir to the throne that he even let ITV cameras follow him for two years while creating a documentary about the importance of taking care of the planet we call home.
Though the documentary is reportedly more focused on William's environmental efforts, his family is definitely featured. In fact, Wills says his children are a huge part of the reason why he's taken up this cause to begin with.
"Now I have got George, Charlotte, and now Louis in my life — your outlook does change. You want to hand over to the next generation, the wildlife in a much better condition."
The Duke of Cambridge also opens up about how his grandfather, Prince Philip. and father, Prince Charles, have helped nurture his own "deep connection" with the outdoors.
He explains that both Philip and Charles have years on him in terms of environmental work. "My grandfather, my father, have been in the conservation, the environmental work for many years. My grandfather was well ahead of his time. My father was ahead of his time. And I really want to make sure that, in 20 years, George doesn't turn around and say, are you ahead of your time? Because if he does, we're too late."
Like his brother Prince Harry, William also shares that he has a deep connection to the continent of Africa. He even credits an early visit to Tanzania with his own environmental awakening. While feeding a rhino a carrot, William notes, "People might see them and think it's a big tank, a big hulk of an animal, with a big horn, but they are incredibly vulnerable."
Sadly, rhinos are routinely hunted, and they face a lot of challenges. "They have brilliant eyesight and people will take advantage of that and they want this horn, which is effectively a nail, and that is all it is, its fingernail. This is where the horn belongs, on a live rhino and that's where it should stay."
Naturally, Kate Middleton makes several appearances as well. In one scene, she's filmed picking up litter and trash on the beach in Anglesey, Wales. The couple lived in the town when they were first married, so it holds a special meaning for the two of them. Kate's also filmed explaining to naturalist Sir David Attenborough that their three children are big fans of his work.
"The children were very upset that we were coming to see you and they weren't coming. They are massive fans of yours!"
Happily, all three kids recently joined their parents and David for an outdoor screening of his upcoming film, David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet.
The documentary even covers the royal visit Prince William and Kate made to Pakistan in 2019. While touring melting glaciers, Kate notes, "Everyone's asking all of us to protect the environment and what comes first is actually just to care about it in the first place. And you're not necessarily going to care about it if you don't know about it and that's why we thought it was so important to come here."
William even invited cameras to the royal family's hideout at Sandringham, which is a pretty big move. The prince shares that he's been working toward raising the number of insects at the family's home, Anmer Hall, by planting trees in the property's wheat and barley fields. He hopes to attract more insects, which will in turn get rid of the pests that plague the fields.
Of course, William also mentions the ongoing health crisis that has really brought a lot of the world to its knees. After mentioning the huge and tragic loss of life that the virus has caused, he also notes that he hopes there might be something more positive on the other side.
"I've been really heartened by what I've been hearing from other people and how they've started to appreciate nature and experience it … If we can provide the same motivation with the environment we will have truly turned a corner. Investment, green fashion. We need to build back greener. Young people won't stand for saying it's not possible."
The documentary, which is titled Prince William: A Planet For Us All, will air in the UK on October 5. William has said he hopes young people around the world enjoy his work, especially since that's who the documentary is really for.
"I owe it to them to help their voices be heard. That generational gap has to be bridged somehow so that the older political leaders understand that the younger generation means business. They want their futures protected. I feel it is my duty and our collective responsibility to leave our planet in a stronger position for our children."
