William tells Heidi Klum he woke feeling ’emotional’ after Earthshot awards

By Tony Jones, PA Court Correspondent in Cape Town

Britain's Prince of Wales has told supermodel Heidi Klum he woke feeling “emotional” and “excited” after his Earthshot Prize awards.

William sat by the waterside in Kalk Bay Harbour in Cape Town with the celebrity and fellow model Winnie Harlow and reflected on his “green Oscars” as they enjoyed a braai or barbecue.

They were joined by celebrities Billy Porter and Tobe Nwigwe, who had also taken part in Wednesday’s ceremony which saw five environmental winners awarded £1 million to develop their ideas to “repair” the planet.

William told the famous Earthshot advocates: “I really appreciate all your support,” and Harlow replied: “It was an honour.”

He added: “I woke up this morning feeling quite emotional and excited.”

Klum, who announced the Fix our Climate category winner, won by an organisation that converts waste heat into energy, said: “I was emotional on the stage.”

William had arrived by a National Sea Rescue Institute vessel and as soon as he stepped on dry land he began shaking hands with dozens of tourists and residents.

The visit came on the final day of his four-day trip to South Africa to learn more about the work of Abalobi, a 2023 Earthshot prize finalist which aims to protect small-scale fishing communities and nurture their ocean stewardship.

He was met with shouts of “We love you, William” and chatted to Abalobi co-founder Serge Raemaekers, who introduced the prince to local fishermen and a team of fisherwomen involved in the Abalobi monitoring programme.

But later a handful of vocal protesters held up placards or shouted about a range of issues including the conflict in Israel, indigenous rights, the culling of baboons in the area and lack of representation for local fishermen.

Rifiek Isaac, deputy chairman of a small scale fishing corporate, said he was angry that Abalobi had been chosen as it did not represent the local fishermen.

He said: “We would have loved to have met the prince, it’s not about him. We don’t like that company using our harbour. We fish here.”

During the visit William was pictured holding a catch of the day, a yellowtail fish, and told the fishermen: “You’re the trailblazers. You’re the leaders.”

After the visit Harlow said the prince’s efforts were reminiscent of the work carried out by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

The model said: “I’ve heard so much about Diana and her charity work and being with him really felt like an extension of her.

“It really was a beautiful moment to see him following in her footsteps.”

After the engagement, Mr Raemaekers addressed the small protest, saying: “There’s a whole bunch of fishers who are able to have their boats here but they live far and wide.

“We haven’t been able to reach them all but we’ve started working with the co-operatives from Kalk Bay.

“I’m imagining that this fishery felt ‘Hey, I’m being left out here’ and I understand.

“In the last couple of years small-scale fishers have had a tricky engagement with obtaining fishing rights.”