The one thing William is anxious about for the future

He is the future king of England and the Commonwealth, which comes with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

But Prince William has revealed there is one specific thing that causes him anxiety.

During a business forum in London overnight, which was convened by the Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife charity and attended by former US Vice President turned environmentalist Al Gore, Prince William discussed his concerns for the environment.

The royal explained while the Earthshot Prize he founded in 2020 as part of The Royal Foundation charity he oversees with his wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, keeps his “environmental anxiety at bay”, it is now more than halfway through its initial 10-year phase, which would lead to “some sweaty nights” as he decides what’s next.

“We have some debating to do,” he said. “It is going to keep us on our toes.”

The Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation to find “the most inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges” − to protect the environment.

“In response, The Royal Foundation and Prince William launched The Earthshot Prize, the most prestigious global prize for the environment in history, its webiste said.

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“The Prize will incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next 10 years – a critical decade for the Earth.”

Each year, it awards five winners a grant of $1.9 million to those who are trying to achieve one of its five goals: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.

“For me, it keeps my environmental anxiety at bay, because I can actually see some of the things we are doing are bringing change,” Prince William told Gore.

“We can do this. There are actually tangible benefits and it helps me sleep at night.”

During the same event, Prince William urged the business leaders representing companies including Meta, Amazon and Google, to be “more ambitious and courageous in what you do for the planet and for the environment”.

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“You have the power to influence, your voice matters in your business, your direction matters and here more than anything, your leadership matters,” he said.

The forum also saw Prince William rub shoulders with actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson for a panel discussion touching on why they became involved in environmental causes and what made them feel optimistic about the future.

Watson criticised the fashion industry as “one of the most exploitative” sectors of the economy.

“The fashion industry… actually creates more emissions than aviation, as the second-most polluting industry after oil,” she said.

“But as someone who actually loves fashion, and it’s such a huge part of what I do, what’s exciting is that this is a huge place where we can actually have impact.”

Some of the businesses present also committed to do more to fight the illegal wildlife trade by working with another charity the Prince founded, United for Wildlife.

Prince William, who turned 44 on June 21, which coincided with Father’s Day in the UK this year, previously said he wanted to leave the planet in a better place for his own children, just as his father and grandfather had attempted to do, during an interview to promote his 2020 documentary Prince William: A Planet for Us All.

“My grandfather, my father, have been in conservation, the environmental work for many years,” he said.

“My grandfather was well ahead of his time. My father was ahead of his time.

“I really want to make sure that, in 20 years, George doesn’t turn around and say, are you ahead of your time? Because if he does, we’re too late.

“I feel it is my duty, and our collective responsibility, to leave our planet in a stronger position for our children.”