It was always going to be fascinating to watch how far Prince William was prepared to go as he addressed world leaders.
Heading to the COP30 leaders summit in Belem, Brazil, he wouldn’t have been naïve about the pessimism around this UN climate conference.
So his speech was his opportunity to issue a unique kind of rallying call, that we should be “the generation that turned the tide – not for applause, but for the quiet gratitude of those yet to be born”.
He was following in his father’s footsteps, the King in the past delivering several keynote speeches at COP, receiving varying levels praise and also criticism for being too political.
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Acknowledging the King’s work in his speech, William enjoys in some ways a greater degree of freedom in what he says, not least because there is now wider global recognition of the issues at stake than when his father started speaking out, but also because of the wider sense of goodwill towards William as a man.
He may appear to have a softer approach, but he is no less fired up by the need to act now.
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At a time when others are turning away from their environmental commitments the one thing you can say is the Royal Family have shown consistent leadership on this, over several decades; William now picking up the baton and wanting it to be part of his legacy too.
His reference to the floods in South Wales, while addressing an audience at the gateway to the Amazon, emphasises the desire of his team to capitalise on his international profile and promote his global leadership credentials.
His message is one underpinned by a sense of optimism that there are solutions but that shouldn’t distract from his cold hard conviction that doing nothing simply isn’t an option.
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A healthy dose of cynicism about the purpose of the Royal Family is obviously always acceptable, especially after the tumultuous few weeks the institution has faced and the issues raised by his uncle Andrew.
But with William one of the most globally recognisable faces at that leaders summit, he is a secret weapon only the UK can deploy, just look at the fact Keir Starmer was glued to his side.
The UK government aware that William’s soft power, popularity and relatability, is essential for those who still need convincing that now is the time to act.
