Prince William stayed composed when asked about the Andrew scandal and the rift with Harry and Meghan. Speaking to CNN, he chose grace over gossip, saying simply: “I want to surround myself with people who want to do good.” A subtle yet powerful message — drawing a clear line between drama and duty. Once again, the future king shows that leadership begins with dignity. Find out more below👇👇👇

Prince William stayed composed when asked about the Andrew scandal and the rift with Harry and Meghan. Speaking to CNN, he chose grace over gossip, saying simply: “I want to surround myself with people who want to do good.” A subtle yet powerful message — drawing a clear line between drama and duty. Once again, the future king shows that leadership begins with dignity. Find out more below👇👇👇

Prince William has diplomatically declined to discuss the Royal Family’s current woes in public – but did speak of his desire to surround himself with people ‘who want to do good’.

The Prince of Wales would not be drawn on the rows caused by his uncle Andrew and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a ‘fireside’ chat with CNN on his Earthshot Prize trip to Brazil.

Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour asked the heir to the throne about his recent comments that he would pursue ‘change for good’ when he is king.

Ms Amanpour pointed to William’s recent Apple TV interview with Eugene Levy and asked if could expand on his comments ‘given there has been a lot of change in your family recently’.

However, William batted away the apparent nod to the decision to strip Andrew of all his titles and home, as well as the rift with Harry and Meghan over Megxit.

Without hesitation he decided instead to focus on Earthshot and praised ‘the brilliant people in this room’, calling them ‘action heroes’ and declaring: ‘Change will come from backing them not by what I do’.

But to cheers from the audience he did add: ‘I want to surround myself with people who want to make change and do good in the world’.
Royal watchers have praised his decision to stay quiet. ‘Unlike Harry, William doesn’t air the family laundry in public’, one said.

William was speaking as he prepared for Earthshot’s awards ceremony, where stars including Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue turned out to support him.

During his ‘fireside chat’ with the event’s anchor, Ms Amanpour, William spoke of being positive for his own children and young people around the world.

He said: ‘You have to provide a leadership and a vision that there’s good things to come and it’s not all negative.

‘And for my children, particularly, knowing that the planet’s going to be in a better, healthier state because of the people in this room is something I love to tell them when they go to bed – it’s going to be great, your future is going to be as bright as futures gone by and that’s a really important message for all us to hear.’

He added: ‘A world without hope and a world without positivity is a pretty depressing place.’

Hours later the stars were out on the green carpet on Wednesday night at Prince William‘s glittering Earthshot Prize Awards.

It came as Prince Harry denied deliberately trying to overshadow Prince William by revealing his own pseudo-royal visit to Canada just as his older brother landed in Brazil for his five-day Earthshot Prize tour.

The clash was labelled ‘predictable’ by one royal expert but the Duke of Sussex‘s spokesman knocked back any suggestion his announcement was about sibling rivalry.

In a statement Harry’s team blamed the timing on the fact he is ‘not afforded the same level of security and protection as other working members of the Royal Family‘.

‘It means therefore, that the period of time in which we can release details of events is much more truncated than it is for His Majesty the King or the Prince of Wales’, his spokesman added.

The Prince of Wales landed in Rio de Janeiro on Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of his environmental award, the Earthshot Prize.

But as William began his first engagement at Sugarloaf Mountain, his younger brother’s office in California announced a trip to Canada this week ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

On Wednesday night the Prince of Wales attended the Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly at Pier 3, part of the three-day Earthshot summit in Rio, to see prizes handed out to groundbreaking environmental initiatives, a cause close to his heart.

The event brought together government officials, indigenous leaders and youth advocates to share inspiring Earthshot stories from the past year, and highlighted investments which are helping finalists scale up their environmental solutions.

Global superstars Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue answered the heir to the throne’s call to headline the awards show in the vibrant Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Dazzling Kylie, 57, said she was wearing a Stella McCartney ‘rewear’ to the event.

Caught on a live Sky News broadcast, she also praised Prince William’s Earthshot prize as ‘amazing people doing incredible things’.

In an impassioned speech on Wednesday night, William said: ‘I understand that some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times. I understand that there is still so much to be done.

‘But this is no time for complacency, and the optimism I felt in 2020 [when he set up the awards], remains ardent today.

‘Because our finalists are a shining example of how we can build stronger economies, design healthier cities, and create better jobs for the next generation.’