Prince William shuts down London’s most iconic road to play cricket outside the palace

The Prince of Wales has brought traffic to a standstill along London’s most iconic road to play a game of backyard cricket outside of Buckingham Palace.

The prince, 44, joined players from the England and India teams to mark the countdown to his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, to be held in Mumbai next month.

The friendly match took place on The Mall outside the palace, a roadway usually closed for the grandest of royal affairs such as Trooping the Colour − the king’s birthday parade − and state occasions.

English star Joe Root said of the location: “There are some wonderful backdrops in cricket but none quite like Buckingham Palace”.

Prince William took off his jacket to play for around 10 minutes and Root said of his skills: “His batting was pretty good to be fair. I think he’s definitely a batter rather than a bowler, but he played some lovely shots. There’s a lot to work with there.”

West Indies legend Brian Lara added: “He underrates himself, he’s a big football fan, he said he doesn’t know much about cricket. His bowling needs a lot of work but his batting? I’d put him as the number six or number seven batter, definitely in the starting 11.”

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William was gifted a cricket shirt for Princess Charlotte, who plays on a team at Lambrook school in Windsor.

After the game, Prince William stopped to meet some of the large crowds who had gathered to watch the unusual spectacle, shaking hands and posing for selfies.

“We do this a lot now,” the prince was heard saying as he took a photo with someone’s phone. Royals have relaxed their rules around selfies in recent years after previously declining them.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said of the prince: “He was so friendly with everyone, simple and down to earth. India will welcome him, cordially. He’s such a lovely natured person, smiling, shaking hands with everyone.”

The game − called Cricket on The Mall − was organised by YouTube stars the Backyard Cricket Boys.

It was held to “celebrate the deep and enduring ties” between Britain and India, and “our shared passion for cricket”, Kensington Palace said.

Prince William’s Earthshot Prize awards will take place in India in November and will be the sixth installation of his landmark climate event.

India is home to more Earthshot prize-winners and finalists than any other country and the event in Mumbai has been promoted as its “biggest awards yet”.

The Princess of Wales is expected to join her husband for the short visit to India, which would mark her return to the ceremony for the first time since December 2022.

Catherine has remained at home with their three children Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, for the last four ceremonies, choosing to be there for exams and other family-centric reasons. Catherine’s cancer diagnosis in 2024, and her round of preventative chemotherapy, also forced her to miss the awards.

It would also mark her and Prince William’s first joint overseas visit in almost four years.

In May, the princess carried out her first overseas visit since her cancer diagnosis. The two-day tour of northern Italy, in support of her work into early childhood, was seen as a major milestone in Catherine’s recovery.

Prince William founded the prize in 2020 to find solutions to help repair the plant, with the five winning finalists given the award money to further their ideas.

The Earthshot Prize honours innovation in environmental protection and 15 finalists are competing for the opportunity to win £1m each in five categories.