Prince William Is ‘Looking Forward’ to NYC Visit for Earthshot Prize

Prince William is ready to return to New York City in September, and he’ll have a full schedule when he lands in the Empire State.

“Prince William will be attending the Earthshot Prize [Summit] and several other engagements and meetings while he is in New York for just over two days,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.

The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit will be held on September 19 during New York Climate Week. “William’s schedule will be very full and he is very much looking forward to his trip across the pond,” the insider shares.

The Prince of Wales, 41, hasn’t been to New York City for an official visit since 2014. He was scheduled to return during last year’s Innovation Summit, which was also held in the Big Apple during September. However, he cancelled his appearance in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II‘s death at age 96. She died due to natural causes just over a week before the event.

“Protecting the environment was a cause close to my grandmother’s heart and I know she would’ve been delighted to hear about this event and the support you’re all giving our earth shot finalists, the next generation of environmental pioneers,” William said in a video message played at last year’s Summit. “Together in this room are the people and organizations who will help us to achieve the Earthshot mission: to repair, restore and rejuvenate our planet within this current decade.”

William founded the Earthshot Prize with The Royal Foundation in 2020 to award those who find, develop or scale groundbreaking solutions to climate change. The organization’s goal is to award solutions that work fast — ideally creating a stable climate by 2030.

At the September Summit, the first in line for the British throne will help reveal this year’s 15 finalists for the big prize and introduce their groundbreaking climate solutions. William and Mike Bloomberg (global advisor to Earthshot winners and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions) are both expected to address the guests during the special presentation.

The 15 finalists announced in September will anxiously wait for two months to learn which of them will be named the five Earthshot Prize Award winners. The third annual awards ceremony is set to be held in Singapore on November 7. The five winners will be awarded £1 million each to further their work in preventing climate change.

William attended last year’s Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston with wife Princess Kate. Prior to hitting the green carpet together, they met with Mayor Wu and took in a Boston Celtics game.

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Reporting by Travis Cronin