Moment Prince William refuses to be drawn on Andrew scandal and Harry and Meghan rift as he tells CNN: ‘I want to surround myself with people who want to do good’

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.

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Prince William took part in a ‘fireside chat’ at Earthshot in Brazil but batted away questions about the Royal Family

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The Prince of Wales said he wanted to focus on the changes being made by others – not himself

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During a ‘fireside chat’ with CNN’s Ms Amanpour, William, 43, spoke of being positive for his own children and young people around the world – rather than his family

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.

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The royal brothers, pictured in 2018, have a long-reported rift which shows no sign of abating

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Andrew’s loss of titles has been driven through by William and the King

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.’

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

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Global superstars Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue pictured with Prince William on the green carpet at The Earthshot Prize Awards 2025 in Rio de Janeiro

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Kylie Minogue, Prince William and Shawn Mendes at The Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony on Wednesday

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Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband pictured at the event. The summit is bringing together government officials, indigenous leaders and youth advocates

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The Prince of Wales speaks with Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan at the fifth annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony

He continued: ‘We can support the dreamers and innovators who work tirelessly to build a more sustainable world. We can protect our beautiful planet for all life that calls it home.

‘The choices we make during this decade will define us… but more importantly, they will define the lives of young people. The future belongs to them.

‘They are the ones who will inherit the planet we are fighting to protect. They are the ones who will continue to drive our momentum forwards.’

Re.green was awarded The Earthshot Prize to Protect and Restore Nature for ‘leading a global movement to restore Brazil’s lost Atlantic Forest, combining cutting-edge technology, ecological science and social impact’.

Soon after, Brazilian footballing legend Cafu announced The High Seas Treaty, led by The High Seas Alliance, as the winners of The Earthshot Prize to Revive Our Oceans.

The Prize to Build a Waste-Free World went to Lagos Fashion Week, for its work on sustainable fashion, before Friendship secured the Fix Our Climate award.

And to top it all off, the city of Bogota was handed The Earthshot Prize to Clean Our Air after the Colombian city reduced its air pollution by a whopping 24 per cent.

William, 43, arrived at the Museum of Tomorrow wearing a black tie suit by Tom Ford.

Appropriately, given the environmental theme of the awards, it was also a rewear.

On arrival he was met by Luciano Huck, presenter of the awards, who invited him to view local samba dancers and carnival artists.

He then walked the green carpet and met musical artists performing in the Awards including Anitta and Seu Jorge as well as Mendes and Minogue.

Posing for photographs on the green carpet, Mendes thanked Prince William for a birthday cake he had arranged for his British mother, Karen, whose birthday was on Sunday, when they met earlier in the day. She was ‘overjoyed’ apparently.

He was also introduced to British Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer and Jacinda Ardern, former PM of New Zealand, Stephanie Al- Qaq, British Ambassador, and Marina Silva, Environment Minister, Brazil.

Following tradition, William was offered the flag of the Samba School, Beja-Flor, by performer Selminha Sorriso and kissed it, before joining his hands in a gesture of thanks for the warm welcome.

He was escorted by Earthshot CEO Jason Knauf and awards presenter Luciano Huck and stopped to chat to a group of 100 local young people invited to attend.

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William and the UK Prime Minister attend the fifth annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony

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The Prince of Wales shakes hands with superstar Shawn Mendes at the ceremony

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Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer laugh as they attend The Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony

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Prince William looks elated as he attends the ceremony on Wednesday

Among them was 13-year-old Giovanna Castro who had come with dad Henrique from Iguaba Grande, 130km away, to see William, bringing her drawing of him and Kate on their wedding day.

The Prince stopped to chat to her and her father for several minutes and appeared touched by her gift.

She said ahead of his arrival: ‘I really love the royal family, I really appreciate them. It’s a very rare opportunity to meet the Prince.’

After walking the green carpet, William headed upstairs to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Britain’s Ambassador to Brazil Stephanie Al-Qaq and Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva.

The Prince then took his seat inside the ceremony, which opened to more music and dancing from Beja Flor and a performance by Anitta, who sang the classic Brazilian hit Mas Que Nada, before duetting with Gilberto Gil with a version of the Girl from Ipanema.

Shawn Mendes performed his song Youth, while Seu Jorge played the David Bowie classic Heroes.

William was later spotted singing along as Kylie closed the show with a high-energy medley of her hits Padam, Can’t get you out of My Head and a cover of Celebration by Kool and the Gang.

After the ceremony, he thanked Kylie, Gilberto Gil and Seu Jorge for performing.

‘Thank you so much, honestly, the whole thing was fantastic,’ the Prince told Kylie, commenting on the fact that ‘everyone was up and dancing.’

The singer congratulated him on the ceremony, saying she had watched from her dressing room and praising ‘the energy from the crowd’.

William then appeared to suggest Kylie could perform at another Earthshot Prize ceremony in future.

‘It’s a deal,’ she told him.