Robert Irwin has described his time with Prince William in South Africa in early November as “amazing.”
Speaking exclusively with New Idea on the red carpet of the TikTok Awards on November 27, the wildlife warrior reflected upon his time in Cape Town, which he visited alongside the royal for The Earthshot Prize.
“He is such a committed human being when it comes to conservation, he just gives it his all and he really is just making a massive difference when it comes to the future of the planet,” Rob told us.
“In a word it was inspiring,” he added.
At this year’s Earthshot Prize, which was held on November 6, the unlikely duo celebrated and acknowledged those working towards helping the planet’s biggest environmental challenges.
Robert and William were regularly seen smiling and laughing with each other, bonding over their shared passion.
While in South Africa, the two even made a hilarious video together posted on Robert’s Instagram page where they discussed their favourite African animals (a cheetah for William and a chameleon for Rob) further demonstrating their newly found friendship.
Ahead of this year’s awards ceremony, Rob spoke out about his relationship with Prince William.
The awards, which were founded in 2020 by William’s Royal Foundation charity, award five category winners one million pounds in funding to help scale up their ideas to help both the planet and those who reside on it.
While the wildlife warrior, who is the son of the late ‘Crocodile Hunter’ was a presenter at the 2023 event in Singapore, he has now been given the honour of becoming an inaugural Global Ambassador for the Earthshot Prize alongside Hollywood actor Nomzamo Mbatha.
“Alongside my family, I have dedicated my life to conservation. I am beyond proud to be an Earthshot Global Ambassador and to help progress its urgent and ambitious approach to finding the most innovative solutions to the world’s biggest environmental challenges,” the 20-year-old shared in a statement when the news was first announced.
“The Earthshot Prize is one of my favourite moments to celebrate these innovations every year, and I am very excited to help bring this year’s Earthshot Week to life in Cape Town.”
In 2023, Robert attended the event with his then-girlfriend Rorie Buckey, the niece of the late Australian actor Heath Ledger.
The duo didn’t just walk the green carpet, with Robert also photographed with the future King shaking hands and even sharing a laugh.
In November 2023, Robert spoke with PEOPLE about Prince William, describing the royal as “a real beacon to everyone in the conservation field.”
“It’s hard to put into words just how massive Earthshot is for wildlife conservation, for climate action, for the world. For Prince William, who has such a great platform, to lend his voice, his resources into creating positive change is such a refreshing, wonderful thing to see. I applaud what he is doing,” Robert told the publication at the time.
With Robert’s dedication to wildlife conservation, it’s only right that he is an advocate and ambassador for Earthshot.
“I have dedicated my life to wildlife conservation. I share that with Prince William and I admire him greatly. He is certainly someone I look up to and I hope I can create the same sort of change that he does. He is a real beacon to everyone in the conservation field,” he also shared.
We hope to see this iconic duo together again in the future!
