The Prince of Wales made his debut appearance on the television program The Graham Norton Show, sparking surprise and delight among fans.
During an episode recorded on Thursday night, William suddenly appeared on stage while host Graham Norton was in conversation with his celebrity guests: Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin, and Hannah Waddingham.
William, who founded The Earthshot Prize in 2020, was greeted by cheers and expressions of astonishment from the audience. He became the first member of the Royal Family to sit on the show’s iconic sofa.
While much of the discussion centered on the work of The Earthshot Prize, William also spoke about his support for his favorite football club, Aston Villa, and his love for the films of Christopher Nolan.
He revealed his family’s particularly Princess Charlotte’s and Prince Louis’s enthusiasm for the celebrity guests, and shared that had he not been heir to the throne, he might have considered a career in the police force.
The episode also features a performance by singer Jorja Smith and is scheduled to air on BBC One this Friday at 10:30 PM.
Prior to William’s arrival, Graham Norton had been discussing the work of The Earthshot Prize with Blanchett (a member of The Earthshot Prize Council), Irwin (a Global Ambassador), and Waddingham (who hosted the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore).
Graham then highlighted The Earthshot Prize as the common link connecting the three celebrities, before announcing William’s arrival.
The Prince of Wales is the first royal to appear on the show. However, other members of the Royal Family have also appeared on chat shows previously Princess Anne appeared on Wogan in 1985, and the late Prince Philip made an appearance in 1986.
The official Instagram account of the Prince and Princess of Wales hinted at this surprise by sharing a photo on their story of William, dressed in a blue suit, sitting on the famous sofa.
William’s appearance on the show comes just days after an interview given by his estranged brother, Harry, to GQ. In this 42-minute candid conversation, Harry stated that reconciliation with his family is of the utmost importance to him; however, alluding to his brother, he remarked, “Some people don’t want this to succeed.”
Following the release of this video, accusations arose that it cast a shadow over an important day for the Royal Family, as they were hosting the Sultan of Oman at Windsor.
It is not yet clear from the initial press materials whether William addressed these comments in tomorrow’s episode. Instead, while seated on Graham’s sofa, William spoke about the BBC show Celebrity Traitors, saying, “I love it the whole family loves it.
Charlotte and Louis are absolutely obsessed with it. It’s really good television.” He added, with a touch of humor, “The day after the first episode aired, I saw Ross Kemp and tried to give him a proper nudge just to see his reaction turns out, he was genuinely quite startled!” When asked what profession he might have pursued had he not been heir to the throne, he mentioned that he would have liked to be a police officer or a DJ.
He said: “When I was young, I wanted to be a police officer; I felt I could do a good job. Then, for a while, I had an interest in becoming a DJ but I wasn’t very good at it.”
For peace of mind, he shared that he turns to music and film: “I love immersing myself in thought-provoking films. I enjoy action movies too, but I look for something a bit different. I’m a huge fan of everything by Christopher Nolan. His films are brilliant The Dark Knight series is psychologically deep and dark, and I really love that. He takes concepts that are completely unique and makes them incredibly compelling.”
At the end of the episode, he helped Graham decide who should be removed from the famous ‘Big Red Chair’a humorous segment of the show where brave guests share their intriguing stories.
However, the bulk of William’s conversation focused on the launch of the Prize and the need to combine urgent action with hope when addressing climate change.
When asked how the idea for the Earthshot Prize came about, he said: “For years, I had been hearing stories about environmental issues, and what struck me was the prevailing sense of negativity and despair it was truly disheartening. I thought we could do something far more powerful and optimistic.
That’s how the idea for an awards ceremony emerged a platform where we could address both the urgent need for action and the hope for the future. It’s all about generating excitement.
There are amazing people across the globe working to protect our planet. We can highlight their efforts and take them to the next level, creating a greater impact on a global scale.”
He also highlighted the Prize’s role in identifying innovators from around the world, and… It provides assistance and helps scale up these solutions.
The Prince emphasized that climate change cannot be tackled by any single individual or initiative, explaining how The Earthshot Prize builds a global coalition of innovators, investors, and supporters.
Blanchett described The Earthshot Prize as a “beautiful tapestry of solutions,” while Waddingham praised the support provided to the finalists and the Prize’s capacity to connect innovators with experts, networks, and investment to amplify their impact.
Irwin discussed The Earthshot’s role in inspiring the younger generation and cultivating a new cohort of environmental advocates.
When Princess Anne appeared on the late Sir Terry Wogan’s show, she jokingly remarked in response to a hypothetical question that she would have to work “even harder” on her private country estate and farm, Gatcombe Park.
She also mentioned that both she and her husband held licenses to drive heavy goods vehicles, and spoke about her life as a farmer’s wife, her role with the British Olympic Association, and her decision to undertake royal duties rather than pursue a university education.
A year later, when Prince Philip appeared on the same show, he discussed his hobby of carriage driving, the reasons why he played polo less frequently, and the then-upcoming wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
Last week, on November 17, Prince William played cricket on The Mall alongside cricket legends from the UK and India to kick off the countdown to the prize ceremony in Mumbai. Joining him were England Test captain Joe Root, former Indian captains Ajinkya Rahane and Sourav Ganguly, and West Indies hero Brian Lara.
Their verdict? William is a “pretty good batter,” but “his bowling could use some improvement.” As for the setting? Root remarked, “Cricket has some spectacular backdrops, but none quite like Buckingham Palace.”
England women’s captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, England white-ball captain Harry Brook, and radio host Greg James also took part in the “Cricket on The Mall” event.
The Earthshot event, taking place in November, will bring together over 5,000 attendees and will be broadcast on Prime Video. It is expected to reach the largest global audience in Earthshot’s history, as it will be aired in more than 40 languages across 240 countries.
