Prince William is evolving into a global statesman, Palace says

Antony Phillipson, the British High Commissioner to South Africa, said the Prince’s visit enabled “the highest level of engagement” between the two countries since the South African general election in May this year.

“We see this very much as a follow-up to the state visit of November 2022, which we continue to see here as a very historic moment by Great Britain and South Africa, as the first state visit organized by His Majesty the King, the fourth state visit organized by the previous queen or king for a South African president,” he added.

“The president himself feels he has a bond with the king, and of course William is the future king.”

Mr Lammy’s visit to Cape Town offers an opportunity to do some “hard policy work”, Mr Phillipson said. It also shows its willingness to strengthen ties with South Africa ahead of the G20 summit, which will take place in the country next year.

“It shows that he is here because he wants to be here,” he added.

The meeting comes after Mr Ramaphosa opted to skip the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting hosted by the King in Samoa last month in favor of the annual meeting of the Kremlin-led Brics bloc, led by Vladimir Putin in Kazan, central Russia.

The Prince will kick off his four-day visit to Cape Town on Monday by joining more than 100 young environmental activists from across Africa and South-East Asia who are taking part in an Earthshot youth programme.

The Prince will launch a series of programs targeting children aged five and up on Monday after it emerged that 2,000 young people had taken part in the Earthshot Blue Peter competition.

Children aged five to fifteen were invited to submit an idea aimed at achieving one of five ‘Earthshots’, the ambitious environmental goals founded by the Earthshot Prize.

Like the Prince wants to create a legacy which extends well beyond his visit, he will also announce a welfare package for wildlife rangers next week that aims to support more than 10,000 people over five years.

The initiative follows the death of Anton Mzimba, 42, an ‘incorruptible’ park ranger who was shot by hitmen at his home in 2022, just months after briefing Prince William on how organized crime had become deeply involved in rhino poaching in South Africa.

The prince was so upset that he made a significant private donation to support Mzimba’s family.