UK's Prince William arrives in South Africa for climate-focused trip

Cape Town (Reuters): Britain's Prince William landed in Cape Town on Monday for a four-day trip to South Africa centred on his annual Earthshot Prize for environmental innovators.

The heir to the British throne will attend a global wildlife summit and meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during the trip, which is his first to South Africa since 2010.

On Wednesday he will participate in the awards ceremony for the Earthshot Prize, which gives five winners 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) each to pursue projects addressing climate change and other environmental issues.

William launched the prize in 2020, inspired by a visit to Namibia. Its name is a nod to former US President John F. Kennedy's ambitious "moonshot" project which led to the 1969 lunar landing.

"By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues," he said in a statement ahead of the visit.

The Prince of Wales is making the trip alone as his wife Kate is still managing a return to work after finishing a course of preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

South Africa is a former British colony and some people there have called for the return of diamonds originally discovered in the country and then set in the British crown jewels.