Prince William reveals the important lesson the pandemic has taught his family

The Duke of Cambridge admitted the covid-19 pandemic has helped “refocus” his life and “work out what’s really important”.

• Prince William made the admission during a video call with seven young individuals, named 2020 Young Champions of the Earth by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• He spoke of the importance of challenging older generations to make changes 
• It follows royal news that an expert claims Prince Philip never wanted to live until 100

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He’s been a champion of creating a greener planet since a young age, and Prince William isn’t giving up his fight to inspire and create change - having previously confessed climate change keeps him awake at night.

While the covid-19 pandemic has been devastating in so many ways, he said it has helped truly “refocus” what is important.

“It helps us, with the pandemic, to really refocus our lives a little bit and work out what’s really important to us,” he confessed, 

The Duke of Cambridge praised a group of young environmental entrepreneurs - chosen as 2020 Young Champions of the Earth by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) - for overcoming huge hurdles to create “inspiring” projects in a bid to combat climate change.

Speaking on a video call, Prince William said, “Just so proud of everything you guys have done, it’s really really fantastic. You’ve really had to take some hits and some bumps along the way to get your projects off the ground, but they are inspiring, they are practical, they are tangible and you guys are making a real difference.” 

One of the young entrepreneurs was Nzambi Matee, from Kenya, whose project involves creating sustainable building materials.

She spoke openly about how difficult it is to challenge the attitudes of the older generation - including her grandparents. 

But that shouldn’t be the reason to stop trying to teach them about sustainability. 

“If we can convince my grandmother not to use plastic bags, we can do anything,” she remarked.

The Duke agreed and said, “If every young person educates their family on the environmental impact they are having, that in turn is making a difference, and changing the tide, and creating that momentum."

The project will see the winner receive seed funding to grow their business and training to support the successful entrepreneur. 

The father-of-three hinted that this group of inspiring individuals could also be in with a chance of winning the £50 million Earthshot Prize - a scheme he created to ultimately help repair the planet.

Prince William said the Earthshot Prize - and other innovative projects that encourage young people to bring about change - was brought about to “bring hope and optimism back to the environment debate.”

Prince William has no doubt been inspired by his father, The Prince of Wales’ constant support of environmental issues - a cause close to his heart. 

Prince Charles has made no secret that as humans we have a “duty of care” to respect our planet. 

“We have a duty of care for this planet that is absolute," Prince Charles, 72, recently said, "We know day by day, we are rapidly destroying the fabric of the natural world for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren, and testing this planet to disruption."