Prince William cracks hilarious joke with Earshot finalist hours before glitzy ceremony | Royal | News

The Prince of Wales made a particularly  cheeky joke today during his meeting with one of the 15 Earthshot finalists on day three of his visit to South Africa.

Prince William met those vying for five £1million prizes to scale up their ideas, the winners of which will be unveiled at a glitzy ceremony in Cape Town this evening.

The meeting took place at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, against the breathtaking backdrop of Table Mountain.

During a chat with the founders of MiAlgea, based in Edinburgh, William heard how the scientists take the byproducts from whisky after it has been distilled to create omega 3 oils from algae, rather than extracting it from fish stocks which are up to 90% depleted around the world.

Speaking to Duncan Glen, the production operator, William joked: “I was fascinated by your company, but I wondered if you were all on a bender and then came up with the idea by chance?”

Laughing Duncan said: “No not quite, it would have been a lot more fun if we had!”

The heir to the throne posed for a picture with the group of finalists saying: “You are all amazing. You should be immensely proud of yourselves. The whole Earthshot team loved hearing about your ideas, the solutions you are all coming up with and I hope you’ve found it beneficial to be here together and create a such great vibe.

“We are here for you for the next 12 months and I want to get around to see as many of you as possible, but good luck tonight.”

The finalists have spent the past week in Cape Town for the annual Earthshot Fellowship Retreat, giving them the opportunity to access mentorship, resources and technical support from experts attached to the Earthshot Prize.

The retreat is organised with the aim of helping each group accelerate the growth of their groundbreaking and potentially planet saving solutions and kickstarts the year-long Fellowship Programme which supports each finalist to scale up their ideas.

Tonight, William will join around 2,000 guests in a sustainable eco-dome for the glitzy event, which will feature stars like Heidi Klum walking its green carpet alongside the show’s hosts – Emmy award winning actor Billy Porter and TV presenter Bonang Matheb.

Dubbed the Prince of Wales’s “Super Bowl” moment, the prize-giving event will recognise environmental solutions to “repair” the planet, with five category winners each receiving £1 million to “scale up” their plans.

The awards event will be staged in a reusable dome that has been used for a number of events, with the production ceremony creating around 650 jobs locally.

It will be opened by composer and singer Lebo M, performing Circle Of Life from The Lion King in a pre-recorded performance from the top of Table Mountain.