Prince William addressed the United Nations leaders hours after his brother, Prince Harry, spoke at the organization’s Clinton Global Initiative.
“We are living at odds with the natural world — and it is buckling under the pressure of our actions,” the Prince of Wales, 42, said in a video message played at a Campaign for Nature event at the General Assembly of the United Nations, in New York on Tuesday, September 24, according to BBC.
In his speech, William urged world leaders to “make peace with nature” as climate change has become an “existential threat.”
“If we are to keep this planet liveable for our children and grandchildren, we must act urgently,” he said. “We can and must change our relationship with the natural world.”
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William advocated for the halting of “unsustainable production and consumption of natural resources.” He also called for action to “save our rivers, oceans, savannas, mangroves and forests, as well as the communities that protect and live alongside them.”
Hours before William’s virtual speech, Harry, 40, visited the UN on behalf of his and wife Meghan Markle’s The Archewell Foundation. The nonprofit debuted its new Parents Network at the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday. During the event, Harry spoke about the dangers of social media for children.
“If we allow the status quo to remain in an age where our lives are intertwined with technology, we cannot afford to only see the online world as a space for profitability, competition and rapid growth instead,” he said. “I never grew up with a phone, but children today are natives to technology, technology that we might not always be able to understand. Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing, scrolling, force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to. We and shareholders need to hold CEOs accountable.”
That wasn’t all Harry accomplished during his New York City trip. He also honored his and William’s late mother, Princess Diana, during a Monday panel for The Diana Award. The organization was founded in honor of the late royal and it awards a group of young people seeking to lead change through a range of initiatives. (Diana died in 1997 in a car crash.)
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“I applaud you for certainly, at your age, to be on this stage, to have the confidence that you do, and to be able to speak as clearly and as passionately as you do,” Harry said in his address to this year’s honorees. “I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys … all of the award winners.”
While the brothers might have just missed each other at the UN, they’ve been estranged since the Duke of Sussex and Meghan, 43, stepped down as working members of the royal family in 2020. Their relationship grew more tumultuous after Harry and Meghan, who ultimately moved to California, spoke out on multiple occasions about the alleged treatment they received over the years. After Harry published his 2023 memoir, Spare, he and William have had limited interactions.
