The Prince of Wales has found echoes of his mother, Diana,
during his visit to Rio.
Prince William
followed in the late princess’s footsteps as he visited the famous
statue of Christ the Redeemer which dominates the city.
The heir to the throne stood beneath the statue for a photo,
just as his mother had done when she made an official visit to
Brazil in 1991. It became one of the most celebrated images of
Diana.
It was a bittersweet moment for Prince William as his successful visit to Brazil
continues and it recalled another moment on a previous tour. In
2016, when William and Kate went to India, they sat in front of the
Taj Mahal for a photo that recalled Diana’s famous visit there when
she posed alone for a picture that was later seen as symbolic of
the end of her marriage to the now King Charles.
William’s visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue came on the
third day of his trip to Brazil which is focused on environmental
issues and which will see him present the 2025 Earthshot awards
later on.
On November 5, Prince William will walk the green carpet at
Earthshot ahead of a star studded show which will feature
performances from Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes. He will then hand
out this year’s five Earthshot prizes, each worth £1 million for a
project that is focused on protecting the environment and
increasing sustainability.
The royal visit to Brazil has already seen William put his
passion for football at the heart of his green campaigning. One of
the first events he attended was the kick off of a leadership
programme for 75 young people, hosted in part by Brazilian legend,
Cafu, who played in three World Cup finals and won two of them. The
scheme aims to build skills and encourage the exchange of ideas
between the climate leaders of the future.
The future king was also presented with the keys of the city of
Rio de Janeiro by its mayor, Eduardo Paes, almost as soon as he
arrived in Brazil.
As we’ve come to expect from the Prince of Wales, this has been
an all action trip with William taking to the sand to enjoy a game
of beach volleyball at a school run by Olympic star, Carol Solberg,
which aims to use sport as a way of transforming the lives of
disadvantaged children.
Prince William
also took to the waters to visit a project planting mangrove
seedlings which aims to protect the natural environment as well as
continue local culture.
There have been major meetings as well with the Prince of Wales
taking part in the United for Wildlife Global Summit which brought
together Indigenous Peoples, leaders from the world of nature
conservation and philanthropists as well representatives from the
private sector to discuss how to protect natural species and
places.
At the summit, Prince William announced a new initiative, the
Coordination of Indigenous Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon,
which will help indigenous leaders protect their land through
delivering emergency funding and legal aid as well as threat
tracking systems.
After the Earthshot Prize ceremony, Prince William is set to
head to Belem where he will attend the COP30 Heads of State meeting
on behalf of King Charles.
