Prince William surprised the Graham Norton Show audience by joining the sofa to promote his Earthshot Prize. Good for the monarchy, or should royals avoid chat shows?
The future king sat alongside Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham in a special edition airing on BBC One on 23 October, talking about climate solutions, Aston Villa and Christopher Nolan films. The same week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham appeared on Channel 4's Gogglebox.
What happened
The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance on a special Earthshot Prize edition of the Graham Norton Show, airing on BBC One on Friday 23 October. Norton invited him onto the sofa beside Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham, to cheers and gasps from the audience. They discussed pairing optimism with urgency on climate change, and William talked about Aston Villa and Christopher Nolan's films. He founded Earthshot in 2020; it awards five £1m prizes, and this year's winners will be named in Mumbai in November.
Why people disagree
Supporters say a relaxed chat-show appearance reaches millions who would never watch a royal speech, shows a future king as approachable and draws attention to a cause he has backed for years. Others feel royals lose some of their mystique and distance on entertainment shows, blurring the line between a future head of state and a celebrity, and that it invites the kind of scrutiny the family usually avoids.
What's still unclear
It isn't yet clear how viewers will react once the episode airs, whether this signals more informal TV appearances from William, or whether it will lift interest in this year's Earthshot ceremony in Mumbai.
Sources
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