Ahead of the premiere for BBC One's upcoming Earthshot Prize documentary, Hannah Waddingham and Prince William have been causing a 'little mischief' as they met up to discuss the prize and its meaning over a pint and game of darts - and the pair are an unexpected comedy duo!
'Shall we go and cause a little mischief?' It's something we've all said to friends as we've met up for a night out on the town - and it appears the royals are no different.
Coming together to not only promote the Earthshot Prize but also to prove they're the comedic duo we never knew we needed, Hannah Waddingham and Prince William recently took over Alexandra Palace in North London to chat about the prize over a pint and game of darts - and they got up to all kinds of mischief.
“Welcome to my palace," Hannah greets Prince William in the short video of their meeting. "Shall we go in and have a look and cause some mischief?" William laughs and quickly responds, “Yes, I think that’s a great idea.”
The venue, Hannah explains, is a very important part of the Earthshot Prize's history as it's where the first ever Earthshot Awards ceremony took place. The initiative, which Prince William set up back in 2020 and which Hannah has been a long time supporter of, awards inventors for coming up with environmental solutions to combat climate change.
It has seen tonnes of celebrity support over the years but Hannah has been particularly invested and is now getting even more involved as she hosts the upcoming Earthshot Report documentary, which premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer today [Sunday 15 December] at 5pm.
But while the conversations around climate change and the solutions to it are serious ones, both William and Hannah were keen to keep things light and fun as they chatted about the upcoming documentary and the problems it will address - so naturally, they had a pint and played some darts.
“I’m feeling equal joy and terror about playing darts with you, you know, the future King of England,” Hannah said, laughing, with William adding, “I think ladies first so I can see what I’m up against.”
It quickly became clear that Hannah is no darts player, with her first shot flying high above the board and into the wall, prompting the pair to both burst into laughter. But William showed off his prowess, throwing three darts that all landed much closer to the bullseye, which lead Hannah to joke, “I’m immediately furious!”
But William hit a snag in his dart-throwing luck and, at one point, even accidentally threw one into the ground - "No, cut, cut, cut,' he shouted jokingly, adding "Hide it, hide it, hide it!" But Hannah insiststed, "No, no, no," and made sure the cameraman got a good shot of the dart laying on the floor.
The pair soon gave up their game and headed back for another sip of cider. Hannah toasted, “Another quick swig — cheers!”
"Don’t let’s start drinking then," William quipped, clinking his glass against Hannah's, "We’ll be here all day!”
But while they were joking and having fun, the pair did also get serious and Prince William revealed that it's his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are the major drivers for him to continue with the Earthshot Prize and the solutions to climate change it promotes.
“I talk to my children the whole time about it, and it’s important that they see, touch, feel and go into nature," he said. “It’s very hard for anyone to understand what’s the point of protecting it if you never use it. And it’s really important we get people out into nature because then they’ll value it.
“We can’t take for granted what we have. We have to protect it, we have to look after it, we have to think about it in a way that is sustainable and beneficial for all of us.”
The video of their meeting is just a taste of what we can expect to see in the Earthshot Report documentary, which will showcase the many inspiring environmental solutions from across the globe that the prize has funded - we're looking forward to seeing more of Prince William and Hannah Waddingham when it premieres.
The Earthshot Report premieres tonight (15 December) on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 5pm GMT. You can watch on PBS from Wednesday 18 December 18 at 8/7c.
