The King and the Prince of Wales have enjoyed a rare public night out together to mark the countdown to the COP30 climate conference in Brazil.
As the father and son arrived at London’s Natural History Museum for the ‘Countdown to COP30: mobilising action for climate and nature’, it was confirmed that Prince William will attend the leaders’ gathering in Belem on behalf of King Charles.
William was already due to fly to Rio de Janeiro on 3 November for the Earthshot Awards. He will then travel to Belem on 6 November for the COP30 world leaders’ summit.
Historically, the King has delivered numerous keynote speeches at the UN Climate Crisis conference, both as Prince of Wales and monarch.
Arriving together at the Natural History Museum, the two men – who share a passion for the environment – seemed in their element, with the event bringing together changemakers tackling climate change and nature loss.
Speaking to Prince William, the deputy prime minister David Lammy and Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, appeared to be telling the prince how delighted they were that he was attending the climate conference in three weeks’ time.
William’s global profile will be a significant boost for the UK’s presence at the summit.
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The King and William also met the Brazilian ambassador to the UK, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, and minister of health, Alexandre Padilha, who were representing the COP30 host nation.
At the end of the evening, William appeared to have waited to say goodbye to his father, as the King was happily deep in conversation with one of the attendees, but eventually, with an affectionate hand on the shoulder, William said his farewells.
