We all know how altruistic Princess Diana was. I remember how before her death, she campaigned for many charities including those for the homeless, sick, elderly, and children. She also toured land mines in Angola – pretty uncharacteristic for a princess if you ask me.
Earlier this week, I blogged about Prince Charles and how he narrated a new documentary titled Harmony: A New Way of Looking At Our World, in which he talks about ways to stop climate change and find new ways to protect our environment.
So, with two parents so involved in social issues, how could Prince William not be as well?
As it turns out, he is. Prince William and his younger brother Harry both volunteered for the British Red Cross in 2004 to help deliver emergency supplies to those affected by the tsunami. He also worked in the children’s ward at The Royal Marsden Hospital and participated in fundraisers for the organization. In 2005, Prince William became a patron of Tusk Trust, which works to conserve wildlife and aid community development in Africa.
This past week, just as he was celebrating his one-year anniversary with Kate Middleton, Prince William spoke out against animal poaching in Africa. Ben Fogle, adventurer, TV presenter and personal friend of the prince, told the London Sunday Telegraph “I am hoping to work with William on an anti-poaching project and documentary. I was lucky enough to go out to Botswana with him a few years ago, so it would be nice to do more with him. We’re both vehemently passionate about stopping poaching.”
Rumors are that one particular slaughter – that of Max, a hand-reared rhinoceros – has made Prince William want to help stop the poaching. Max was killed by poachers while on a wildlife preserve in Kenya last year.
The film African Cat screened in London last week and at the screening, Prince William said, “Films like African Cats remind us of the dramatic beauty, and the harshness, of the natural world – and there is nowhere more awe-inspiring or beautiful than the vast plains of Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Africa’s natural heritage is the world’s natural heritage. We have to preserve places like this – not just for us, but for future generations. We must act now, coherently and together, if the situation is to be reversed and our legacy – our global, natural legacy – preserved. Tomorrow will be too late.”