Prince William wore vintage & sustainable sneakers for the Earthshot ceremony

Here are photos of Day 3 and Day 4 of Prince William’s big, keen trip to South Africa. I have no idea who is paying attention to this at all, even within the British media. Thankfully, today is William’s final day in South Africa, and last night was the big Earthshot Prize ceremony in Cape Town. Heidi Klum was there, so was Nina Dobrev. I honestly wonder if Eartshot pays appearance fees to celebrities for coming out. I feel pretty confident that Earthshot picks up the celebrity guests’ travel costs and accommodations. Which begs the question – why are they wasting all of that money just to have some “celebrities” at these stupid events?

Anyway, unlike the previous Earthshot Prize ceremonies, William didn’t wear a tuxedo or any kind of formalwear indicating that this was an evening event. He wore a vintage blazer from a local store (in London, I guess) and he wore sustainable sneakers which are “zero-plastic and biodegradable.” I get that William is making a point to highlight sustainable men’s fashion, but it also looks like he didn’t care enough to get dressed up for the one time Earthshot was held in an African country. The women are in formalwear – William is in sneakers.

The Prince of Wales, 42, was the guest of honor at the awards night in Cape Town, South Africa on Nov. 6. It was the focal point of his four days in South Africa, which began on Monday, Nov. 4 and conclude on Thursday, Nov. 7.

“I’m feeling good. I can’t quite believe we’re here, fourth year, in Africa,” Prince William said on the green carpet. “But I’m really pleased because I’ve been looking forward to an Africa Earthshot for a long time. I love the continent, and I’m so pleased we’ve managed to get here to Africa.”

“Africa’s been a big part of my life since I’ve been a young boy, since I first came to Africa,” he continued. “I felt really connected to the place spiritually and kind of from an environmental and people point. And every time I come here I get a warm welcome. Every time I come here I can be myself and get away from all the stuff that happens in my normal life. And so it’s a really special place, a home from home for me.”

[From People]

He’s copying Harry, etc. I find it interesting that Harry has spent so much time on the ground in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, not only working but building friendships and a surrogate family. And then William just… pops into Jecca Craig’s estate in Kenya every three years or so and that’s about it.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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70 Responses to “Prince William wore vintage & sustainable sneakers for the Earthshot ceremony”

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  1. Blujfly says:

    I cannot imagine anyone is even covering this IN South Africa. Truly, what an utter failure of planning and advance work to have held this now, this year.

    • Sarah says:

      I don’t think it’s being covered anywhere.
      William is also insulting an entire continent. As a reminder, Africa could fit the United States, China, India, and Europe within its borders.

    • KASalvy says:

      The only reason I knew this happened was because I saw a photo of Shaun White and Nina Dobrev on the red carpet…and wondered why TF were they there?

      Again KP and their minions missing the mark MASSIVELY on another of his events.

    • bubblegum dreams says:

      No they are not. There has been a one off article in some newspapers but nada, nothing, zilch. I read South African newspapers online everyday as part of my job. I am still asking why did he go to South Africa.

      Does he think Meghan and Harry got the reception they got because they are from the BRF? That South Africans are royalists? There is just no rhyme or reason for his visit. South Africa was out of the commonwealth since 1961. They returned on 1999 but most SA’s don’t even know that and very few care.

      Harry is loved in the Southern African region, which is Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland for his charity work, especially with Sentebale, and the African Parks charity. totally independent from the BRF.

      Harry has been working on an anti-poaching campaign and met with game rangers in the South African anti-poaching units in the Kruger National Park, now the Egg suddenly has the same passion. He is like a stalker. He is literally stalking Harry across continents.

      • Square2 says:

        “I am still asking why did he go to South Africa.”

        Answer: The first 3 awards were in London (Europe), Boston USA ( America) and Singapore (Asia). Earthsh!t wants to boast its “globally” reach, hence the Africa continent for this year.

        TOB only cares about white human Africans & selected animals. He really doesn’t give a sh!t about Africa & it’s many Nations.

  2. Gabby says:

    He looks like the airline lost his luggage. This ONE time per year that he flies commercial.

    Any how many times can he say “Africa” in one statement? This is the most uncomfortable cringey EggSplat of all.

    • Noodle says:

      I agree. That jacket doesn’t fit him; he looks like a little boy who put on his dad’s jacket. Pretty sure there are shoulder pads in that one.

    • ArtFossil says:

      Mentioning Africa is great. But the statement isn’t about Africa or Earthshot. William refers to himself SIXTEEN TIMES in just two paragraphs.

      • Tessa says:

        It is one giant ego trip for him.

      • Gabby says:

        The Africa mentions are absolutely for own personal use, when he should be spotlighting others. The cynic in me thinks he’s trying to insert as many search results as possible between him and the Slumlord story.

      • Christine says:

        Thanks for counting. He is parroting Harry in Spare, except particularly badly, since Harry never centers himself. No one believes you feel passion for ANYTHING, Prince William, just sit down.

        How has no one been able to get through to him that what makes Harry so happy, and good at interacting with people wherever he is IS THE OTHER PEOPLE?!

      • Jan90067 says:

        Can anyone there, INCLUDING the hard, boiled egg, name ONE ES nominee, winner, what prize they got and for what, and how it was followed up? ANYONE?

        The ONLY time we hear about Earth’s*t is when England’s most notable narcisistic Slumlord, brings it up.

      • Megan says:

        He could have mentioned the thousands of social entrepreneurs who are working to improve climate resiliency all over Africa. It’s a massive hub of innovation right now.

  3. He could have worn those sustainable sneakers at home and did a zoom for the winners of his earthshit project to help the climate. He instead wanted to go to Africa to rub it into Harry’s face and hire some super models, who don’t even know what earthshit is about, to stand next to. So he can take those sneakers and shove them where the sun don’t shine.

  4. Lady Esther says:

    I cannot believe he made such offensive remarks and no one is calling him on it. How very White Mischief of him!

    “Africa’s been a big part of my life since I’ve been a young boy” – no specific country, just a big blob of surface area. And “big part of my life” – in what way?

    “I felt really connected to the place spiritually and kind of from an environmental and people point.” Aside from the hilarious word salad, didn’t he just recently openly and clearly state his rejection of religion and his unenthusiasm at his inherited future role as leader of the Church in the UK? But he feels “connected spiritually to the place.” What does this actually mean, coming from a stated atheist?

    “And every time I come here I get a warm welcome.” It’s all about me! You are all so grateful to see me and be in my presence! Yay!

    “Every time I come here I can be myself and get away from all the stuff that happens in my normal life.” This is the most offensive IMO. Visiting “Africa” (again, no specific country or people) is ABNORMAL and that’s why it’s great for William. He can get away! He is freed of all burdens or responsibilities, it’s fun 24/7 and that’s why he can “be himself,” because someone who has to be a functioning adult let alone heir and future King of the UK and multiple Commonwealth countries isn’t “himself.” It’s this horrible normal life, see and in “Africa” he can be ABNORMAL. Of course that’s a “special place”! It’s his Disneyland, like Scotland is Charles’ Tartan Disneyland!

    SMH I can’t with this man….

    • one of the marys says:

      “Every time I come here I can be myself and get away from all the stuff that happens in my normal life.”

      this is a strange and curious statement. It’s not the sentiment of a happy family man that’s for sure.

    • Eurydice says:

      You parsed this perfectly!

      • Lady Esther says:

        It’s just the open statement that “being in Africa” can’t be part of his “normal” life. He can’t just be Prince William, going to a country in Africa, like he’d go to any other place. It has to be ABNORMAL for William, the heir to the throne, to visit Africa and that is furthermore defined as a place where personal pleasure and freedom to be adored is the most important quality, not the actual place or people.

        What an unbelievably awful thing to say, let alone to the press!

    • Christine says:

      This is perfectly said. Prince William is institutionally grown meat, pretending to be chosen, by anyone, for anything.

      Nope.

    • QuiteContrary says:

      All of this, Lady Esther.

    • Becks1 says:

      It also just always bothers me how he refers to “Africa” like its one country. Its a huge continent – it has cities and towns and yes, wildlife and open spaces and a different environment than what’s in England.

      I mean Harry talks about “Africa” as well but he usually is very specific about Botswana or another country that he is visiting. The only country we know William visits is Kenya bc of Jecca.

    • Nerd says:

      It’s reminding me about how after the backlash the racist comedian at Trumps MSG Klan rally suddenly spoke about how he vacations there. It’s giving they can dismiss the people and the country because they vacation there and bring nothing else to the table. This is the same man who criticized African people for causing harm to the environment by having too many babies while his wife was pregnant with their third child. He only sees Africa as his place to vacation and nothing else.

      • sunnyside up says:

        And that third child will cause more pollution and consume far far more than the vast majority of people in Africa.

  5. Beth says:

    Heidi Klum admitted that she’d known nothing about Earthshot until William’s team contacted her to ask if she’d fly to SA for yesterday’s ceremony. And he’s faced a ‘rowdy’ protest today, that clashed with supporters, according to Cameron Walker, GBN. Had to sneak out through the back, apparently.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      Anyone else getting the vibe that these “celebrities” (gods that word’s doing a lot of heavy work here) are just in it for free press and to show off their latest plastic surgery?

      The whole thing looks tired.

      Know what I was hoping to see? THE ACTUAL NOMINEES WHO ARE DOING THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK.

    • Nanea says:

      Harry’s brother is such a disgusting, condescending twat.

      Africa is a continent with 54 countries, for starters. It’s sad that he doesn’t even mention one or two he feels especially connected to. *cough*Lewa*cough*

      It’s awful that he needs to get away from his slumlording, instead of addressing the problems his tenants have mentioned, or how it’s ok to profit off of charities. Or how nice it is to pocket tens of millions without actually doing anything at all in return, not even mentioning accountability.

      Looking at the way the other attendees are dressed, it’s not like 🥚 hasn’t got wardrobes full of very lightly worn suits and nicer shoes, e.g. his plane slippers.

      And the only Princess of Wales worth mentioning, Diana, did double-breasted so much better, e.g. her Galliano suit.

      • Nanea says:

        (No idea why my comment showed up here when it was supposed to be ⬆️ in Lady Esther’s thread)

  6. Teagirl says:

    Once again it is all about William: “..Prince of Wales, 42, was the guest of honour at the awards night ..”
    The guest of honour should be the award winners, not him. Everything he does he centres himself as the star. What an ego.

    • Cj says:

      lol really? Guest of honour at his own event?? Surely he’s just the host and the guests are the Earthshot nominees!

      • SueBarbri33 says:

        Yes! And this is what’s really wrong with Earthshot! William acts like a guest when he should be the host. This is the same mistake he’s been making for the last few years. When Harry is at Invictus, he’s everywhere shaking hands, thanking people, posing for photos, etc. Same with Felipe in Spain–when you see him, he always appears to be welcoming or greeting people. But William doesn’t understand that. It’s strange that they haven’t worked out that he should be the host at this event. I remember last year in Sinagpore, there was a promo for ES and…it was just a short clip of William walking onto the stage while the audience clapped. It didn’t make sense. Awful PR.

      • Unblinkered says:

        Exactly, to all three commenta above.

  7. Eurydice says:

    “I, me, my” I’m reminded of the Tartan Tour when he said he loved Scotland because he always had such a good time on holiday there. So Africa is home from home for William? It’s actually home for about 1.5 billion other people – how about mentioning them?

  8. Mooney says:

    The world is pretty much focused on the US elections at the moment and since last 72 hours or so. Not sure even his most devoted derangers are following his earthshit programme.

    • Blujfly says:

      Half of them are Russian bots and those that are real are MAGA so they’re too busy planning their enemies list and cruelties.

  9. Linda says:

    The simple fact that we know nothing about the winners and their projects is shameful. How can KP think that a picture with celebrities and not with winners is the right approach for the statesman he is ?

    • Chrissy says:

      Exactly. The focus has never been on Earthshot’s innovations or the innovators! It’s always been about a ego trip for Willnot. “Me, me, me flying thousands of miles to see Africa, and have an occasion where I’m the centre of attention, instead of Harry, Harry, Harry. What are the innovations and who are the innovations? Who cares!!!” What a StATESMAN I AM!!

    • Unblinkered says:

      Looking at the picture of him next to the stunning Heidi Klum it’s very apparent why Kate Middleton chose not to attend.

  10. Tessa says:

    It’s always about him. He looks ridiculous and its a farce since he still has the copter use and lives in luxury.

  11. Tessa says:

    I did not see coverage in the USA.

  12. Amy Bee says:

    Once again, we don’t know who won the Earthshot awards. And Heidi Klum admitted on the red carpet that she didn’t know about it and that she was contacted by William’s team to attend. As for his outfit it’s terrible. If he wanted to wear sustainable fashion he could have just worn one of his old tuxedos. Anyway William didn’t know about sustainable fashion until Meghan joined the family.

    • SueBarbri33 says:

      It’s weird too because there must be so many old and groovy tuxedos sitting around Buck Palace. He should take a page out of Uncle Edward’s book and rock one of George Vi’s dinner jackets. Or he could have made that green tux his EarthShot thing–he could wear it every year or something. As a gimmick. His team is terrible.

  13. yipyip says:

    We have lots of old sneakers at my house too. LOL

  14. sevenblue says:

    Famous people got invited to events to simply boost press coverage for the event. They are most definitely paid for their appearance. Nobody is gonna fly to the other side of the world for free for a charity event they are not a part of. However, even if they got Madonna, they wouldn’t get enough press coverage, because their team stupidly set this date around USA election.

    Somebody shared the cost for Earthshot, they are spending more money on the event than the grants they are giving out. It is obvious the main aim of this organization is to boost Will’s profile, not caring about environment.

    • Jais says:

      Yeah, I’ve got imagine it is all expense paid. Travel, accommodation and even food. And I’m also thinking they are probably getting an appearance fee.

  15. wolfmamma says:

    Wow another pic of William clutching his junk. And wearing dreadful clothes along with that awful beard. And talking about himself throughout.
    He really is sad- this future king

    • Christine says:

      Steve Irwin is standing right next to him illustrating how it should be a position of openness!

      • Cassie says:

        Christine Steve died many years ago , that’s his son Robert , big noting himself .
        Robert is big on promoting environmental stuff and his Zoo .
        Following his father’s legacy .

        He has been posting stuff about this on his Instagram page , basically that’s all that’s been seen here in Oz .

      • Christine says:

        Yep, I left out the word son by accident. The salient point is the much younger child of greatness that was earned is once again showing how to continue to bring positive attention to his father’s actual passion project, while on the red carpet of Prince of Wales’ failure to launch, while clinging to his penis like it’s been naughty.

        I thought it was funny.

      • Carrie says:

        I have posted on Every One Of Robert’s TikTok’s about the event. I asked if he was aware about the Dispatches program and Willy’s status as a Slum Lord; the fact that Willy is no environmentalist given he uses helicopters as cabs. 😅💃🏻

  16. Anonymous says:

    the palace cannot be happy with how his face is progressing

  17. Kateee says:

    How could anyone have access to every possible advantage on earth and still roll up to events this unprepared? The clothes, the responses, all of it. It’s such an embarrassing choice.

    • Chrissy says:

      Hasn’t he said in the past that he never prepares for events and likes to “ wing it!”? Such a loser for a Statesman”. Why isn’t anyone reeling this jackass in? He’s making the whole institution into a laughingstock?

  18. Lulu says:

    Is People the only mag to cover this? I saw a blurb the other day in the dm, but I didn’t see them cover the Earthshot event.

  19. Jaded says:

    First, you have to have a spirit to be “spiritual”

    Second, I don’t see the crowds of warm welcomers like your brother and SIL get. Only a couple of paid-for celebrities getting a free trip and a chance to cozy up to the BRF. Great career move ladies.

    Third, what stuff are you getting away from in your normal life? Your “work”? Hardly, you’re a lazy, useless toff. Your wife? You appear to spend most of your time away from her. And “normal life” is raising your kids. Do you really want to get away from them too?

    Fourth, you’re hardly ever in Africa and it’s clear you’re sick with jealousy that your brother seems to have the upper hand with his genuine work and African family there.

    Wanker…

  20. Steph says:

    Pegs calling himself the guest of honor at an event that is supposed to be honoring other people is… Something.

    He couldn’t even honor SA. He can’t distinguish it from other countries on the continent. He also didn’t thank his hosts.

    Heidi pretty much admitted she was paid to be there. Whether it be through travel and accommodation or a check, she wasn’t there from her own goodwill.

  21. Tina says:

    He looks ridiculous. No one is paying attention to this at all. If you are going to crow about your celebrities at least try to get some A list ones. What a waste of time, energy and money.

  22. QuiteContrary says:

    The gall of that mediocre white man to stand there looking like a hobo next to the always fabulous Billy Porter.

  23. KC says:

    A double breasted jacket and sneakers. And here I used to think British men could dress well….Savile Row and all. He’s so stupid.

  24. Beverley says:

    Slumlord Willy looks laughable! This is NOT a good look for him. Will tries to emulate Harry but he never looks comfortable or confident.

    He’s giving me the feeling that he’s already bored with 🌍💩.

  25. Miss Scarlett says:

    How disrespectful to his guests that he changed the dress code and didn’t tell anyone. He looks ridiculous when everyone else was in black tie, like every other year. William just decided he wanted to look like an American CEO in a zoom call. If you’re going to change a dress code from black tie to smart casual, the least you can do is to let everyone else know. He and his team should be embarrassed at a disrespectful lack of planning and communication.

  26. Alicky says:

    He looks, and sounds, like a self-absorbed dork.

  27. Nerd says:

    I saw his outfit and my first instinct was to laugh and say out loud “What the actual F is that?”. He’s wearing dress casual pants and shirt with tennis shoes and a double breasted jacket. An ugly double breasted jacket that looks like something that Charles may have worn at some point. It looks even more bizarre and out of place when he’s next to people adequately dressed for the occasion. I don’t understand how he always gets it wrong.

  28. girl_ninja says:

    The look of a loser.

  29. Lucylee says:

    He traveled all that distance just to wearsecond hand clothes and a pair of sneakers.

  30. Kingston says:

    The Farmer, the Son and the Donkey

    [NB: This tale is in honor of Bully. We know his handlers have a vested interest in this site so here ya go, suckers! Pay close attention to the moral of this story.]

    Once upon a time, a farmer lived with his son and donkey. One day, the farmer decided to take his son and donkey and go to the city to shop. So, they left early in the morning and all 3 of them started walking towards the city. On their way to the city, they met a young man.
    The man chuckled at them when he saw them walking with the donkey. The farmer then asked him as to what made him laugh and the man said that he found it odd that 2 people were walking with a donkey. According to him, if he had the donkey, he would have rode on the back of it. He said that the two of them were fools for having a donkey and still walking, instead of riding it. And with that, he went on his way. The farmer then asked the son for his opinion and the son said it would be better if the farmer rode the donkey. So saying, the farmer leapt on to the donkey and they continued their journey.

    They then met an old man. The old man saw the farmer riding the donkey and the son walking. The man said that he found it odd that a young person was made to walk whereas the older person was riding the donkey. According to him, if he had the donkey, he would have made the younger person ride on the back of it. He said that the two of them were fools for not being able to take a proper decision. And with that, he went on his way. The farmer then asked the son for his opinion and the son said it would be better if he rode the donkey now. So saying, the farmer got down and the son leapt on to the donkey and they continued their journey.

    They then met an old woman. The old woman saw the son riding the donkey and the farmer walking. The woman said that she found it odd that an old person was made to walk whereas the younger person was riding the donkey. According to her, if she had the donkey, she would have made the older person ride on the back of it. She said that she was disappointed in the younger generation. And with that, she went on her way. The farmer then asked the son for his opinion and the son said it would be better if they both rode the donkey now. So saying, the farmer too leapt onto the donkey and they continued their journey.

    They then met a young girl. The girl saw both of them riding the donkey and was very upset. The girl said that she found it odd that the donkey was being made to struggle. According to her, if she had the donkey, she would take care of it properly if she were to ride on it. She said that she was disappointed in humans for their careless attitude. And with that, she went on her way. The farmer then asked the son for his opinion and the son said it would be better if they both walked now. So saying, the farmer got down from the donkey and lifted the donkey upon his shoulders. They then continued their journey by walking.

    After a while, the farmer kept the donkey on the ground and looked at his son and asked him what was to be done. As the son thought, the farmer said that he made him take all the decisions since he wanted to assess him. The son nodded and said that he was very confused as so many people had said so many things. The farmer then said that always in life, people will tell a thousand things about how something should be done and not done. He added that if he were to listen to everyone’s opinions, then he would be going nowhere and no work would get completed. So, he urged his son to take the best decision with the resources in his hand.

    By now the son was clear in his thinking and he said that he got a good idea. He told the farmer to ride the donkey for a third of the distance, and after that he would ride the donkey for another third of the distance. And for the final third of the distance, they would both walk, giving the donkey some rest. The farmer was now happy with the decision the son had taken and the 3 of them resumed their journey.

    Moral – One must always use their own thinking to make a decision, instead of listening to the various opinions of other people.

  31. VilleRose says:

    He’s so young but Robert Irwin is going to be the spitting image of his dad as he gets older (Bindi looks a lot like Steve too, it’s amazing how their mom’s genes seemingly are nowhere physically!).

    As for this event, why does William always refer to the whole African continent? Surely there must be some countries in the continent that hold his heart? He couldn’t even say he was happy to be in South Africa? How about Kenya since he and Kate got engaged there? And I’m all for wearing a thrifted outfit that looks nice but it looks like he picked up his entire outfit last minute at a garage sale without a second thought to fit or how it looks put together. And this event got hardly any press due to the election as predicted. Do we even know who got the Earthshot award this year?

  32. tamsin says:

    I must say that William in terms of dress looks like a mess. The double breasted jacket looks like it does not fit because it is too short for him. Shirt and trousers do not work with the jacket. The sneakers look ridiculous. And that beard just looks like he surfaced from a month-long bender. Just realized that Harry has showcased a long series of cool sneakers as his normal foot ware so William is just copying, like his wife copies Meghan. I just wonder how he decides which celebrities to invite- they seem so random. I would expect them to at least have a toe in the conservation or environmental area. Irwin qualifies, I guess. But where does Heidi Klum fit in and Billy Porter. William does seem to have the requisite number of Africans, though. I found information about the winners on youtube, but there isn’t a lot of coverage elsewhere. Hope the finalists were able to network and obtain useful contacts. But this travelling show must cost a fortune and leave a huge carbon footprint. Some of the projects are very interesting. I for one would like to know how some of them have progressed, and how the prize has helped them. I think there was real potential for this prize if it focussed on the idea that every helpful initiative
    can help in the overall effort to save the planet.

  33. Tarte Au Citron says:

    It is a pure mish-mash. That double breasted jacket looks at odds with the jeans and trainers. Did it belong to KC3?

    Everyone else looks glammed to the max, and this manchild can’t be bothered to put a flippin’ tie on.

  34. Lau says:

    Nothing in this outfit matches, he looks so stupid. Also he sounds like he thinks Africa is the country.