Prince Williamis explaining whyKate Middletondidn’t travel with him on hisvisit to Singapore.
In a speech on Monday morning, William said his wife couldn’t be with him because of an important family reason:Prince George’s schooling.
“Catherine is very sorry she can’t be here,” said the Prince of Wales, 41. “She is helping George through his first set of major exams.”
Kensington Palacepreviously confirmedthat Prince William would travel to Singapore solodue to their son’s exams. This marks the first time that Princess Kate will miss theEarthshot Prizeawards ceremony, which she has attended for the last two years (in London for the inaugural event and then in Boston in 2022). Prince Williamlaunched the Earthshot Prizein 2020 to promote impactful approaches to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, with plans to award the prizes until 2030.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The royal added that his last visit with Kate, 41, had been “a memorable” one 11 years ago. On that occasion, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Singapore on behalf of his late grandmotherQueen Elizabethduring her Diamond Jubilee year.
This time, however, Prince William is in Singapore for both the third annual Earthshot Prize and for hisUnited For Wildlifeprogram, which works to “protect our natural world from the international criminal gangs intent on plundering it," he said Monday.
Prince George, Prince Louis, Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte and Prince William at Trooping the Colour 2023.Neil Mockford/Getty
Neil Mockford/Getty
“Namibia, home to the largest number of black rhinos in the world, saw a devastating 93% increase in rhino poaching from 2021 to 2022,” he continued.
“We know where the animals are being poached; we know the routes through which they are illegally transported; we know the financial systems that criminal networks are exploiting to finance their trade; and we know the main markets that are fuelling the demand for it,” he added about how the problem can be targeted.
“Let’s use this summit to renew our collective determination to defeat the criminal gangs who inflict such unnecessary environmental and human loss," he said. “This is a battle that can and must be won.”
Prince William meets attendees of the United for Wildlife global summit in Singapore on Monday.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Prince William’s United for Wildlife campaign brings together governments, businesses, policing authorities and transport agencies to help combat the crime. Such high-profile agencies are required because it is often the same highly organized gangs that traffic drugs, arms and people.
“This criminal convergence makes the illegal wildlife trade as much a human crisis as an environmental one,” said William, before adding that the “global black market that has made flora and fauna the fourth-most-traded illegal commodity in the world, worth up to $20 billion.”
“This is a global issue that demands immediate attention from us all.”
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Despite the enormous task, the royal’s network has had many successes since its inception nearly a decade ago. He stated that the network has supported over 600 investigations, “nearly 300 seizures of illegal wildlife products, and the training of over 110,000 people to tackle wildlife crime.”
MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images
“But our work is far from over,” William added. “We must be more determined, more innovative, and more resourceful in the relentless pursuit of our mission to defeat this trade.
“Signatories, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, the US, South Africa and Singapore, will commit to regular cooperation to combat money laundering from transnational criminal syndicates engaged in the illegal wildlife trade.”
Prince William at the United for Wildlife summit in Singapore on Monday.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
“There is no greater example of the benefits of international collaboration than here in Singapore,” said William. “We can take great encouragement from the many ways that this country is rising to the challenge.”
Earlier on Monday, Prince William hadsome fun on the wateras he took part in a traditional Dragon Boat race in the shadow of some of Singapore’s most iconic buildings.
Prince William taking part in the Dragon Boat race on Monday.MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images
source: people.com
