Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough for a chat about the importance of protecting the world’s oceans ahead of William giving a speech urging action in Monaco tomorrow
Sir David Attenborough has warned Prince William of the “unspeakably awful” damage to the ocean floor in a newly released film. The pair joined together in conversation to discuss the importance of protecting oceans in a video released to mark World Ocean’s Day tomorrow.
During the chat, which was filmed at the Royal Festival Hall after the premiere of Sir David’s new documentary, Oceans, William quizzes the 99-year-old naturalist about his experiences of exploring the ocean over his long life. And he issued a stark warning after the Prince of Wales asked him about the state of the oceans right now.
Sir David tells William: “The awful thing is, it is hidden from you and from me and most people. The thing that I was appalled by when I first saw the shots for this film is what we have done to the deep ocean floor, it is just unspeakably awful.
“I mean if you did anything remotely like it on land, everybody would be up in arms. If this film does anything, if it just shifts public awareness, it’ll be very important and I can only hope that people who see it will recognise that something must be done before we destroy this great treasure.”
However, the pair agree there is still reason to be optimistic about reversing the damage to our oceans, with Sir David adding documentaries like Oceans, which is released on streaming platforms today, can spread the message of the work that needs to be done to reverse the damage.
He told the prince: “What is heartening really is that we have the entree to people’s front rooms. Whole families sitting at home in comfort, can actually suddenly see this coming up. Films like this can expose something new.”
And William added: “It’s a really optimistic excitement sort of moment for the next generation to be able to be bigger explorers and find more data. The next 50 years will be incredible.”
Also in the chat, Sir David shows William an old aqua-lung diving helmet, putting it on his head, as William laughs: “Don’t put it on, you’ll never get it off, David.”
The documentary-maker also tells William about being one of the first people to be able to go diving after its invention saying: “That was the moment when suddenly you moved into a new world. You were flying among the fish, which was an extraordinary experience.”
The release of the footage of the conversation comes as William travels to Monaco tomorrow to attend the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, where he will give a speech calling for action to save the oceans before it’s too late.
He is expected to say: “Halfway through this decisive decade, I call on all of you to think big in your actions. Let us act together with urgency and optimism while we still have the chance.”
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “There should be no doubt that this speech is the Prince of Wales calling for action to save our oceans now. The world is watching. This is him using his platform to call for more to be done sooner rather than later.”
William will be joined at the forum by French President Emmanuel Macron as well as Prince Albert of Monaco and Costa Rica’s President Chaves Robles, who will also make speeches about saving the world’s oceans.
Protecting the oceans has been one of the key focus areas for William’s Earthshot Prize Awards, which is handing out five £1million prizes over a decade for planet-saving solutions.
Since the awards were established in 2021, finalists in the Revive Our Oceans category have collectively protected and restored over 20,000 square kilometres of ocean and saved, reduced, or recycled 2.5 million tonnes of water.