Prince William has always used the Earthshot Prize as his vanity project, and as some convenient busywork to help him hang out with celebrities. In 2022, when the prize ceremony was held in Boston, William didn’t invite the prize nominees or winners. The only people “invited” to the prize ceremony were celebrities and Kennedys, many of whom were likely paid to appear. Same with the Singapore ceremony in 2023, and same with the event in South Africa last year (although, in the past two years, they actually invited the nominees). Ahead of the South African event, Kensington Palace briefed the press that William was going to be a sexy single guy surrounded by models. Wouldn’t you know, Heidi Klum flew into Cape Town and did several appearances. She even admitted, on camera, that she had never heard of Earthshot before William’s people got in touch. This is how Earthshot blows through so much money, because they’re not handing it out to prize winners. Well, for this year’s Earthshot Prize ceremony, they’ve got Gisele Bundchen. You know, the same Gisele who is a more credible environmentalist and humanitarian than William.

Prince William just added a supermodel to his eco-army. Gisele Bündchen is bringing her runway glamour to William’s high-profile environmental project. The Brazilian supermodel and philanthropist is joining the council of the Earthshot Prize, the global awards program that celebrates bold ideas tackling the planet’s biggest challenges.

Bündchen will join a dream team that reads like a who’s who of global changemakers: broadcaster and conservationist Sir David Attenborough, actress Cate Blanchett, chef José Andrés and World Trade Organization director-general Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She also becomes the first Brazilian to take a seat on the council — perfect timing as this year’s awards land in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 5.

Prince William, 43, will attend several Rio events surrounding the ceremony before heading to the UN climate conference in Belém, Brazil, on Nov. 6.

Gisele Bündchen will join a judging session led by Dame Christiana Figueres, chair of The Earthshot Prize and architect of the Paris Climate Accord. Bündchen said she was “honored” to take part in William’s mission.

“Protecting nature has always been close to my heart, and I’ve seen the power of the global communities coming together and supporting innovation to create real change,” she said in a statement. “Every action matters big or small and together we can nurture change to protect the planet we call home. The Earthshot Prize shines a light on solutions that inspire hope and transformation, and I’m proud to represent Brazil in sharing these stories with the world.”

Bündchen has a longstanding history of advocating for the environment. She and her family created the Clean Water Project in southern Brazil, where she was born. She has also been part of initiatives focused on wildlife protection, reforestation and regenerative agriculture, and has worked to raise awareness of the UN Environment Program. The supermodel also founded the Luz Foundation, which supports projects uplifting women and children, as well as initiatives in education, health, and the environment. In recent years, the foundation has focused on protecting Brazil’s diverse ecosystems—including the Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, Mata Atlântica, Pampa, Pantanal—and its coastal marine habitats.

[From People]

Yeah, Gisele has much more credibility here than William. She’s not just being hired as a pretty face so that plodding Huevo can “hang out with models.” I find it sexist that it’s being framed that way by People Mag too – “Gisele Bündchen is bringing her runway glamour to William’s high-profile environmental project…” While William is likely only interested in her glamour, Gisele has been a dedicated environmentalist for many years and her work in Brazil is consistently hailed as extremely significant. Standing next to Gisele, William is going to look and sound like what he is: an awkward, angry dilettante. Additionally, I think people are just breezing over how weird it is that William’s wife hasn’t gone to Earthshot events since 2022, and William’s keen PR is always centered on how he likes to go solo and act like a single/divorced man.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.