I don’t like the responsibility that goes with being heir to throne – William

The Prince of Wales has said he does not like the added responsibility that now comes with being heir to the throne.

But the freedom William’s role affords him to create projects like his Earthshot Prize environmental awards is something he welcomes.

William stressed that using his position to do something “genuinely meaningful” was paramount and Earthshot, which staged its awards ceremony in Cape Town this week, was the perfect example.

Speaking at the end of his four-day visit to South Africa to attend the awards, the prince said: “Do I like more responsibility? No.

It’s very important with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful

“Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot? Then yes.

“And that’s the future for me. It’s very important with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.

“So, the Earthshot is a culmination if you like of all that put together.”

William staged his Earthshot Prize ceremony in an eco-dome on Wednesday night and, in a speech to guests, dubbed his environmental awards as a “movement for change” and called on the world to join.

The event saw five category winners awarded £1 million each to develop their ideas to “repair” the planet.

William urged businesses to be “courageous” and invest faster in projects tackling environmental threats to the planet.

He highlighted how Earthshot carries out due diligence on finalists enabling companies to “come in and poach what they want” but there was a “reluctance” from some firms to get involved as they waited for “something better round the corner”.

William said: “But if we keep waiting like that, we’re going to keep eating into time that we just don’t have.

“And so my message to business really is, hurry up and be courageous. Invest faster because we just don’t have that time.”

He added: “So, yes, I get a bit frustrated that it takes a long time to convince people that this is worthy of their attention.

“But I guess that’s the nature of a global environment prize … you start from scratch and it’s going to take a bit of time.”