Prince William doesn’t want to “preach” to people about the environment and would rather celebrate positive steps being made.

Prince William doesn’t want to “preach” to people about the environment.

The Prince of Wales is passionate about trying to preserve the planet for future generations but he has to be “careful” in trying to address the issues so is proud of establishing his Earthshot Prize – which offers £1 million to five winners each year to invest in their pioneering inventions – to celebrate the efforts being made to tackle environmental problems.

William made his comments as he drank cider and played darts with actress Hannah Waddingham in a short interview to promote the ‘Earthshot Report’, a documentary about his Earthshot Prize, which was filmed at London’s Alexandra Palace, where the award’s first ceremony took place four years ago and which is currently hosting the World Darts Championship

Asked about the idea behind the initiative, William said: “It’s not about giving up the things we want to [do], we don’t have to sacrifice that.

“It’s about doing it in a slightly different way that doesn’t damage what we care about.

“[I want to] celebrate talent and solutions, rather than telling people ‘don’t do this or don’t do that’.

“You’ve got to be so careful, because there’s been a lot of that. I don’t want to preach, I want to find solutions.”

William went on to cite his own plastic-free trainers, explaining such footwear made from natural fibres are a way of making a simple change to help the environment without impacting on anyone’s lifestyle.

The 42-year-old royal – who has three children with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales – admitted it took “a long time” for him to come up with the Earthshot concept as a way of celebrating positive environmental action.

He said: “It took a long time.

“I wasn’t sure how to create and galvanise action and the element of trying to stay positive about it rather than negative was important.

“So that’s where the award ceremony idea came from.

“You just keep pushing the boundaries and hoping we’ll make a difference.”

During the brief interview, ‘Ted Lasso’ star Hannah suggested she and William “cause some mischief” while Alexandra Palace was hosting the darts tournament.

The pair were then seen ordering cider and attempting darts while the 50-year-old actress fired questions at the prince.

At one point, she asked him: “What on earth is your obsession with seaweed about?

He said: “Right now the focus [of the prize] is highlighting, showcasing, scaling all the amazing solutions that are out there, and investing in them.

“See them, support them and use them. Then we will make the Earth more sustainable and better for us all going forwards.”

The interview ended with William missing the dart board and his dart hitting the floor, prompting him to joke he wanted the camera to “cut”.

Hannah and the prince then took one last sip of their drinks as they left, prompting William to joke: “Don’t let’s start a drinking game. We’ll be here all day doing that as well.”