Prince William is releasing a documentary: here's everything you need to know

Prince William is releasing a documentary: here's everything you need to know

It's been quite the glamorous few weeks for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Between the launch of Kate’s Hold Still photography book, a round of doubles with Emma Raducanu, and a joint appearance on the red carpet scheduled for tomorrow, the typically low-key couple have been enjoying a little more spotlight since IRL events resumed – and we, for one, are very happy about it.

Now, more exciting still, it looks like Prince William is taking a leaf from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's book, by trying his hand at documentary filmmaking.

Yep, William's first-ever Earthshot Prize will be documented in a five-part series, due to premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on October 3. (Insert mandatory Mean Girls joke here.)

The Earthshot Prize: Repairing our Planet will focus on the environmental challenges facing our planet, alongside the inspiring solutions created by scientists and experts around the world, including the 15 first-ever Earthshot Prize Finalists.

"It’s incredible what we humans can build, but we often forget that it comes with a cost. We can create a different future, a better future, but only if we reach for it now," Prince William is heard saying in a teaser released by the prize's Twitter account over the weekend.

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The teaser depicts members of the Earthshot Prize Council, with a voiceover describing this as "the decisive decade" for counteracting climate change's impact on our planet, followed by a montage of the groundbreaking innovations that are being honoured by the prize.

Prince William isn't the only famous face to appear in the timely documentary, either, with filmmaker Sir David Attenborough, soccer player Daniel Alves, and pop star turned philanthropist Shakira also thought to be involved.

The series will culminate with the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at Alexandra Palace in London on 17 October. The prize ceremony, which will no doubt be attended by William, will name the five recipients of the prize, each of whom will be receiving £1 million to further their seminal work.

This year's ceremony will mark the first of many to come, with the prize set to be awarded each year for the next decade.

"The plan is to really galvanise and bring together the best minds, the best possible solutions, to fixing and tackling some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges," Prince William said in a video announcing the prize in October of last year.

"We've got to harness our ingenuity and our ability to invent. The next ten years are a critical decade for change. Time is of the essence, which is why we believe that this very ambitious global prize is the only way forward."

How exciting!

The first episode of The Earthshot Prise: Repairing Our Planet will air on 3 October on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. 

Kate McCusker

Kate McCusker is a freelance writer at Marie Claire UK, having joined the team in 2019. She studied fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins, and her byline has also appeared in Dezeen, British Vogue, The Times and woman&home. In no particular order, her big loves are: design, good fiction, bad reality shows and the risible interiors of celebrity houses.