Prince William makes bold vow as he wraps up Earthshot Prize visit to Singapore

Eyebrows must surely have raised in the Palace as the King’s son subtly called out his relatives in an unexpectedly candid moment.

Prince William boldly vowed to go a “step further” than his family has previously and “actually bring change” as he wrapped up his four-day visit to Singapore.

In a surprisingly candid interview with travelling media on Wednesday, the Prince of Wales, 41, outlined his ambition to become a “social leader”, according to The Sun.

“That’s what I’m trying to find my way in is I care about so many things and previously the family have been very much spotlighting brilliantly and going round and highlighting lots – I want to go a step further,” he told reporters.

“I want to actually bring change and I want to bring people to the table who can do the change if I can’t do it.

“And so it’s all about progressing, helping and advancing particular social causes that need to be given more support.

“I’ve been in the homelessness sector for a long time now, and so rather than just being patron I want to do more, I want to actually build the homes, I want to provide them with the mental support, all the employment and the education they might need.

“So it’s all these wraparound services, it’s kind of going deeper and longer, than it is the case of just having loads of causes that you sort of turn up and keep an eye on.

“It’s more about how do I show my intent more? How do we do more for you? And give you a better, better future.

“But you have to remain focused, if you spread yourself too thin you just can’t manage it and you won’t deliver the impact or the change that you really want to happen.”

William with Aussie actress Cate Blanchett, who was one of the presenters at the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards on Tuesday. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The focus of the initiative is driving solutions to pressing environmental issues. Picture: Mohd Rasfan/AFP

William’s bold declaration to go “further” than previous royals follows years of debate, led by critics of the monarchy, about his family’s ability to actually drive real change.

In recent years, William has turned his focus to mental health, homelessness and the environment. Along with his wife, Kate, Princess of Wales, he has channelled his energy into fewer organisations and causes, in a departure from previous royals’ approach.

For comparison, the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had several hundred patronages each during the peak of their reign.

Unlike other royals, the couple prefers to focus more energy on fewer causes and patronages. Picture: Paul Campbell/POOL/AFP

Meanwhile, William’s visit to Singapore coincided with the Earthshot Prize, an initiative he founded with the Royal Foundation which aims to “discover, spotlight and help grow innovative solutions that are working to repair and regenerate our planet.”

Five winners are awarded at the annual ceremony – which was held on Tuesday night – for their contributions to environmentalism.

“I think I’m still digesting after last night’s awards ceremony, sometimes it takes a while just to kind of percolate through as to what’s happened,” William admitted to reporters.

“We’re still on the go, doing loads of meetings so I think the big thing for me is that this year feels bigger than last year, so we’re progressing and we’re building as we go.”

He added that the “key aim” is to get “bigger” each year and reach a wider audience.

“This is the first time we’ve come into Asia, so it’s important the Asian market see us know what the actual Prize is,” William explained.

“We’ve predominantly obviously done Western with the UK and Boston. So I think it’s all about working out where do we go next? How do we join the dots?

“You’ve just seen downstairs the impact investment side, that’s really crucial. Because we’re not just an award ceremony. People think this is philanthropy. They think it’s just a prize ceremony. It’s not, this is so much more.

“It’s about how much impact can we achieve by scaling and building up and spotlighting these incredible people with brilliant solutions, we’ve just got to join some more dots between policy regulators government’s money, and then you blend it all together and then see the impact from that.”

Originally published as Prince William makes bold vow as he wraps up Earthshot Prize visit to Singapore