The Prince of Wales made an unexpected appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
As host Graham Norton chatted with Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham during the pre-recorded episode, William suddenly appeared as a surprise guest.
The audience responded with cheers and gasps as William, who founded The Earthshot Prize in 2020, became the first royal to take a seat on Graham’s famous sofa.
The conversation focused largely on the work of The Earthshot Prize, although William also discussed his support for Aston Villa and his admiration for Christopher Nolan’s films.
He spoke too about his family’s enthusiasm for Celebrity Traitors, revealing that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are especially devoted viewers. William also said he had once considered joining the police if he had not been heir to the throne.
The episode, which includes a performance by singer Jorja Smith, will air tomorrow on BBC One at 10.40pm.
Before William’s surprise entrance, Norton had been discussing the guests’ links to The Earthshot Prize. Blanchett is a member of its council, Irwin serves as a global ambassador, and Waddingham hosted the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore.
Norton then pointed out that The Earthshot Prize connected all three celebrities before smoothly introducing William to the audience.
The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance on a special Earthshot Prize edition of The Graham Norton Show
William laughed with host Graham Norton as he reached for the handle of the famous ‘Red Chair’
William appeared unexpectedly while Graham Norton was speaking with Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham during the pre-recorded episode
The programme, which also features singer Jorja Smith, will be broadcast tomorrow on BBC One at 10.40pm
William is not the first royal to appear on a chat show. Princess Anne was a guest on The Wogan Show in 1985, while the late Prince Philip appeared on the programme in 1986.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s official Instagram account had hinted at the surprise by sharing a photograph of William sitting on the familiar sofa in a blue suit.
The post tagged both The Graham Norton Show and The Earthshot Prize, alongside two eye emojis.
William’s television appearance came just days after his estranged brother Harry spoke to GQ in an interview.
During the revealing 42-minute conversation, Harry said that repairing relations with his family was “the most important thing” to him. However, in an apparent reference to William, he added that “some people don’t want it to work out.”
The video’s release prompted accusations that it had overshadowed an important day for the royal family, when they welcomed the Sultan of Oman to Windsor.
Early press materials offered no immediate indication that William addressed his brother’s comments during the episode.
Instead, William discussed BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors from Norton’s sofa, saying: “I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly.”
The picture shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s official Instagram
While largely focusing on the work of The Earthshot Prize, the royal spoke about his support for beloved Aston Villa and his love for Christopher Nolan’s films
Cate Blanchett during filming for the Graham Norton Show called The Earthshot Prize a ‘tapestry of solutions’
Hannah Waddingham highlighted the support offered to all Finalists and Earthshot’s ability to connect innovators with the expertise, networks and investment needed to grow their impact
He humorously added: ‘I saw Ross Kemp the day after the first episode and I couldn’t help but try – in the most appropriate way – to touch him to see what reaction I got from him. Turns out he was really jumpy!’
William spoke about what he would be if he were not set to be king, and said that he would have been a policeman or a DJ.
He said: ‘I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I thought I could make a good one. And then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ – I wasn’t very good.’
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When it came to switching off, he revealed that he uses ‘music and film’ to wind down: ‘I love getting immersed in deep–thinking films. I like action films too, but I like something a bit different.
‘I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does. His films are are fantastic – The Dark Knight series is psychologically dark and deep and I absolutely love that.
‘He takes concepts that are completely out there and makes them incredibly entertaining.’
By the end of the episode, he helped Graham judge who should be tipped off the famous Big Red Chair – a comical section of the show where brave guests tell their funniest stories.
But much of William’s conversation focused on the origins of the Prize as well as pairing a need for urgency and optimism when it comes to tackling climate change.
When asked about how The Earthshot Prize came about, he said: ‘For many years I was hearing stories about environment issues and one thing that struck me was the negativity and doom which got me down.
‘I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic and the idea of an awards’ ceremony came about and we could talk about urgency and optimism together. It’s all about getting excited.
Robert Irwin spoke about Earthshot’s role in inspiring young people and building a new generation of environmental advocates
Jorja Smith took to the stage to perform on The Graham Norton Show
‘There are some amazing people out there doing things to protect the world. We could really highlight what is being done and scale them to the next level to have more impact around the world.’
He also highlighted the Prize’s role in identifying and supporting innovators around the world and helping them scale solutions for greater impact.
The Prince emphasised that climate change can not be tackled by a single person or initiative and explained why Earthshot can bring together a global coalition of innovators, investors and advocates.
Blanchett called The Earthshot Prize a ‘tapestry of solutions’, while Waddingham highlighted the support offered to all Finalists and Earthshot’s ability to connect innovators with the expertise, networks and investment needed to grow their impact.
Irwin spoke about Earthshot’s role in inspiring young people and building a new generation of environmental advocates.
Blanchett also spoke about playing alternate roles with Nina Hoss in her play Electra/Persona, saying: ‘Every night we toss a coin to see who will play each role. We didn’t know and the audience didn’t know. We had to know the whole play which was so hard to rehearse.’
Waddingham, talking about Ted Lasso, said: ‘I thought it had so, so stopped but hoped they would bring it back and with a women’s team. When we made the first season I said, “I don’t think this show knows what it is”.
‘But when it came out something amazing had happened in the edit and it was genius. It is beautiful, positive, and very funny.’
When Robert was asked about growing up as the son of Steve Irwin, he said: ‘It was very special. I’m following in dad’s footsteps as my job is to conserve the animals and make sure they are living a great life and that his legacy lives on.’
Last week, William kicked off the countdown to the Prize in Mumbai on November 17 by playing cricket in The Mall with some of Britain’s and India’s cricketing legends.
William was joined by homegrown test captain Joe Root, India’s former national team captains Ajinkya Rahane and Sourav Ganguly, and West Indies hero Brian Lara.
Last week, William kicked off the countdown to the Prize in Mumbai on November 17 by playing cricket in The Mall with some of India’s cricketing legends
Their verdict? William was a ‘pretty good batter’ whose ‘bowling needs a bit of work’.
And the scenery? ‘There are some wonderful backdrops in cricket, but none quite like Buckingham Palace,’ said Root.
England women’s captain Nat Sciver–Brunt, England white–ball captain Harry Brook and radio host Greg James also joined in the fun at the ‘Cricket on The Mall’.
The Earthshot event in November will bring together more than 5,000 participants and will be streamed on Prime Video.
It is expected to reach the largest global audience in Earthshot’s history, with the event being streamed in more than 40 languages across 240 countries.
