Prince William has told of the “special place” Africa has in his heart ahead of returning to the continent for his ­Earthshot Prize awards.

William – who lost mother Princess Diana in 1997, when he was 15 – said he found “comfort” there as a teenager. And he spoke of proposing to wife Kate in Kenya in 2010 and getting the inspiration for ­Earthshot in an encounter with an endangered white rhino in Namibia in 2018.

William, 42, said: “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 Earthshot. It was in Namibia I realised innovative, positive solutions to environmental problems could drive ­transformative change.”

William will arrive in South Africa tomorrow ahead of the fourth instalment of his ­environmental awards, with individual prizes of £1million being handed to five winners each year over a decade.

The opening ceremony will feature a performance of The Lion King musical on Table ­Mountain.