By Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) -Prince William heads to Brazil next week for the awards ceremony for his multi-million-dollar environmental prize, hoping to refocus attention away from the scandal of his uncle Andrew and back on the royals’ causes.
William will visit some of Rio de Janeiro’s most famous landmarks on what will be the British heir’s first Latin American trip.
The aim is to turn the spotlight onto a line-up of environmental projects before the annual awards ceremony for the prince’s Earthshot Prize.
The visit comes days after King Charles stripped his younger brother of his title of prince and evicted him from his mansion, banishing his sibling from public life to try to prevent any further damage to the royal brand from Andrew’s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
FOCUS IS EARTHSHOT PRIZE
During his three-day trip, William will seek to focus on his main philanthropic environmental cause, which aims to find innovations to combat climate change, and awards five winners 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) each to drive their projects.
William will visit Sugarloaf mountain, the Maracana soccer stadium, the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Copacabana beach where he will play volleyball, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
His wife Kate, who is in remission after cancer treatment, will not be joining him.
South America is an uncommon destination for the British royals who tend to focus overseas trips on Europe or the foreign realms where the king is head of state, such as Canada.
William has never been to Brazil or Latin America before, while Charles last went there in 2009.
This year, the Earthshot events will take place a week before the United Nations COP30 climate summit which is also being held in Brazil and which the prince will attend in place of his father.
“With its energy, its people and its iconic landscapes it is the perfect place to celebrate amazing environmental innovation and host our biggest and best Earthshot ever,” Jason Knauf, chief executive of the Earthshot Prize, said.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 5 which will feature a host of celebrities and performances from Australian popstar Kylie Minogue and Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil.
Organisers say the summit surrounding the event will attract more than 1,000 global leaders, some of the world’s biggest philanthropists along with global mayors and world-leading scientists.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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