Prince William Shares Why Africa Has a ‘Special Place’ in His Heart

• Prince William shares why Africa holds a “special place” in his heart — from providing him “comfort as a teenager” to choosing the continent as the place to propose to Kate Middleton in 2010
• A 2018 trip to Namibia also inspired the Prince of Wales’ Earthshot Prize, the environmental initiative he founded in 2020
• Prince William will head to Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday, Nov. 4 for the fourth iteration of his Earthshot Prize Awards

Prince William is detailing how Africa inspired him — including providing the setting to ask Kate Middleton to marry him.

As the Prince of Wales prepares to arrive in South Africa in support of his environmental initiative the Earthshot Prize, he says, “Africa has always held a special place in my heart — as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and, most recently, as the founding inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize.”

“It was in Namibia in 2018 that I realized the power of how innovative, positive solutions to environmental problems could drive transformative change for humans and nature,” he added in the Nov. 2 statement.

The prince, 42, is traveling solo to Cape Town on Monday, Nov. 4 as Princess Kate continues her cancer recovery. He asked Kate, 42, to marry him in Kenya in 2010, taking his late mother Princess Diana‘s engagement ring with him to do so.

His statement came as final preparations are underway in Cape Town for a week of events centered around the star-studded Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

“I am proud that, since its inception, The Earthshot Prize has traveled to Europe, North America and Asia, spotlighting and scaling 45 groundbreaking solutions, all of which are having a tangible impact as we work as a global collective to secure the future of our planet,” William said. “This week we’ll travel to South Africa to spotlight our next cohort of 15 finalists and have the opportunity to join partners from across Africa to celebrate the inspiring approach to environmental innovation that is taking place across the continent.”

He is encouraged by the ideas that are coming forward, both around the world and in Africa, in particular.

“By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues,” William added. “I firmly believe that if we come together with collective ambition and urgency, we can reshape the future of our planet.”

Organizers are especially proud of The Earthshot Prize’s reach across Africa, which bears the brunt of the effects of climate change yet is the least polluting continent. The number of African-based nominations to The Earthshot Prize has doubled between 2023 and 2024, with over 400 nominations from African-led solutions and another 350 with operations and impact in Africa. 

As excitement builds for the fourth iteration of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Awards, it was announced on Nov. 1 that the show will kick off with a performance from the iconic Table Mountain. Lebo M. will unveil a pre-recorded version of “Circle of Life” from The Lion King, the first time a performance of this nature has been recorded at the site above Cape Town.

The awards ceremony Nov. 6 will take place in the Earthshot Prize Dome, a purpose-built venue that uses a structure designed and engineered in South Africa. The biggest of its kind in Africa with a width of 36m, a height of 15.5m and a length of 144m, it has been used before and will be broken down and re-used for other events in the country. The production of the show itself is also creating about 650 jobs locally, contributing significantly to Cape Town’s creative industries.

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

The Earthshot Prize Awards will be broadcast in 50 countries across Africa via the MultiChoice network, in the U.K. on BBC iPlayer and around the world on YouTube. 

As the week of Earthshot in South Africa gets underway beginning on Nov. 4, Table Mountain and other Cape Town landmarks will be lit green from that day until Nov. 7 — something that has also been done in London, Boston and Singapore, the first three locations of the Earthshot Prize Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.