Prince William to visit New York for Earthshot Prize summit in September

It is unclear if the Duke of Cambridge will meet with the Duke of Sussex

The Duke of Cambridge will visit New York City next month to attend an innovation summit for his Earthshot Prize ahead of this year’s award ceremony.

Prince William will travel alone on 21 September, and will be joined by previous winners of the global £50m environmental competition.

His visit to the US falls shortly after his brother, The Duke of Sussex and his wife, The Duchess of Sussex’s planned trip to the UK.

It is likely that the Sussexes will have returned to their home in California by the time of William’s visit, though it is unclear if the brothers – who are rumoured to have a long-running rift – will meet.

It marks the first time William has travelled to the US since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the royal family and left the UK in 2020.

William’s ambitious Earthshot Prize was launched last year, and invites people from across the world to come up with innovative solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental concerns.

This year’s awards ceremony will be held in Boston in December.

The September summit will be co-hosted by the 77^th session of the UN General Assembly and Bloomberg Philanthropy during New York City’s Climate Week.

Wiliam is expected to deliver a speech to attendees, which will include world leaders and leading philanthropists.

Hannah Jones, chief executive of Earthshot, commented: “Through a powerful discussion on collective action and investment in game changing innovations, we will ask the brightest minds to turn urgent optimism into action.”

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed their plans to visit the UK in a statement earlier this week.

“Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are delighted to visit with several charities close to their hearts in early September,” the spokesperson said.

The couple will visit Manchester on 5 September to attend the One Young World Summit – an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.

Harry is a counsellor for the organisation, alongside Justin Trudeau, Sir Richard Branson, and Jamie Oliver.

They are also expected to make an appearance at the WellChild awards on 8 September.