What Did Prince William Tell Steve Irwin's Son?

Prince William's efforts to preserve the environment have kept him busy. His upcoming Earthshot Prize Awards, which will be held in London on October 17, will acknowledge 15 Earthshot Prize finalists for their innovative work to tackle climate change and will pick five inaugural winners. Each winner will receive a sum of one million pounds. Per the Earthshot website, the one-million-pound prizes will be awarded to five solutions each year over the next 10 years, with the award events taking place in different cities every year.

Over the years, the Earthshot Prize Awards will be given out to a wide range of individuals, teams, or a collaboration of economists, scientists, activists, banks, businesses, leaders, community projects, cities, and countries — basically, any person or organization that comes up with innovative ideas to tackle climate change. William has high hopes for this initiative, as he thinks it's time we try and fix the world's environmental problems. In a BBC interview leading up to the award show, the Duke of Cambridge declared, "We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live."

William has his environmental priorities in place, a fact he emphasized revealed that when he sat to chat with Robert Irwin about his upcoming prize event. During the chat with Steve Irwin's son, William got candid about his feelings for Steve. 

Prince William had nothing but praise for Robert Irwin. During the interview, he told Robert that he was a "big fan" of his father, Steve Irwin, the renowned zookeeper, conservationist, wildlife expert, and environmentalist. "Honestly, I was a big fan of your dad, and I am so sorry," William told Roberth during the conversation (via People). "It's no surprise that you're a fan of crocodiles as well. The family trait has continued into the next generation I am sure." William added, "He'd be very proud of you, Robert. And what you continued. Your passion is only second to his."

Robert admitted to feeling "glad" about his endeavors, too. "I'm really glad that I get to hopefully inspire my generation and my fellow younger Australians to ignite and start that spark of passion," he said to the Duke of Cambridge. Robert, who is an advocate for the Earthshot Prize Awards, also asked William about the inspiration behind the awards. "I felt that a bit of optimism and hope is what we needed," William explained. "Showing people that there are solutions. That there is a way forward what was going to be needed, and so that's how the Earthshot Prize sort of spun out from there."

Per People, the upcoming award show will feature performances from Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay. The performances during the award show will be powered by 60 cyclists generating electricity.