Prince William has made a special gesture to South Africa and demonstrated his remarkable linguistic skill in a landmark speech.
Fans praised the Prince of Wales for speaking all 11 official languages of South Africa during an inspiring environmental speech at the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony.
South Africa recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.
The ceremony was the centrepiece of his trip to Cape Town, where the five winners of the 2024 prizes were unveiled and awarded £1million.
Prince William has made a special gesture to South Africa and demonstrated his remarkable skill in a landmark speech.
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The ceremony aimed to provide a moment of celebration, highlighting the impact achieved by past winners and finalists as well as sparking the imaginations of young people around the world who could be future Earthshot Prize Winners.
The event concluded with Prince William's speech, in which he spoke about his love for Africa and the importance of protecting the continent's wildlife.
The Prince of Wales greeted the audience in each of the official languages of South Africa and ended his speech thanking them in the range of dialects.
Historically, South Africa’s official languages were European, although 80% of the population spoke traditional African languages.
The event concluded with Prince William's speech, in which he spoke about his love for Africa and the importance of protecting the continent's wildlife.
PA
In 1996, South Africa’s new constitution changed the official languages, Dutch, English and Afrikaans, to include all the country’s major languages.
The most spoken language in the nation is isiZulu, with nearly 23% of the population speaking it.
It is followed by isiXhosa, 16%, Afrikaans, 13.5% and English, nearly 10%.
The Prince of Wales addressed the audience in a grey suit jacket over a light blue shirt paired with white trainers.
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The Prince of Wales addressed the audience in a grey suit jacket over a light blue shirt paired with white trainers.
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The awards ceremony took place in Africa for the first time and featured incredible talent from across the continent, including award-winning TV presenter Bonang Matheba and actress Nomzamo Mbatha.
The ceremony was streamed on YouTube and across 50 African countries through the Multichoice network.
The finalists represented a diverse range of environmental solutions across five categories, with the five winners being announced during the event.
The categories included: Protect and Restore Nature, Revive our Oceans, Clean our Air, Build a Waste Free World, and Fix our Climate.
