Tuesday 15 March 2016

William looks to George's future

As he took a big step in his work against the illegal wildlife trade, the Duke of Cambridge had many reasons for continuing his campaign but his children were up there at the very top of the list. William has said before he doesn't want his young son and daughter to grow up in a world without some of the animals we take for granted, like elephants and rhinos. And today, as another element of his campaign was revealed, he spoke of how he wants George and Charlotte to go to Africa and how he can already see his son being 'a bit of a bum' wearing 'bangles and sandals'.


The Duke of Cambridge sees a future for George involving sandals and bangles

It's a bit of a step from the George we've seen in public who has been more of a mover and a shaker but then dad knows best. And William also knew that mentioning his hopes for his children in an interview with ITV's Mark Austin would make sure even those who weren't that interested in his crusade against poaching would stop and listen for just a while - which is, after all, the whole point of a campaign.






The big headline of the day was an agreement overseen by Prince William which will commit leaders of transportation companies around the world to take new steps to fight the illegal trade in wildlife. The Buckingham Palace Declaration, signed in the famous royal residence this afternoon, was described by the future king as 'a game changer in the race against extinction'. The Declaration, signed by 40 bosses, has 11 commitments including developing new information sharing systems between companies and a promise that transportation firms will tell relevant law enforcement agencies of suspected illegal cargoes.





As pen was put to paper, his children were still very much in William's thoughts as he told his audience that ''if we allow current trends to continue, there will be no African elephants or rhinos left in the wild by the time my daughter, Charlotte, reaches her 25th birthday.'' And he added ''It is my view that, if we have not turned this crisis around within the next five years, we will have lost this battle forever.''




It was a stark warning and was made as images were released of a visit the Duke of Cambridge made yesterday to London Gateway port in Essex to highlight how huge the process of unloading cargo at major locations is and how difficult it is to check imports across the transportation network. He was joined by William Hague who was also at the signing of the Buckingham Palace Declaration today.






There was one more question for William as he talked to Mark Austin that got just as much attention as his chat about children and his wildlife campaign. The ITV newsreader asked him about claims made in the  past weeks that he is shying away from royal duties. William didn't flinch and said the allegations were ''all part of the job.'' That may or may not satisfy his critics but it does show that the Duke of Cambridge is keeping his eye on the things that matter most to him and that includes this campaign and how it will affect his children's futures.

Photo credit: World Bank Photo Collection via Flickr
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