Prince William rocked a navy suit as he met with music legends at the 2024 Tusk Conservation Awards in London on Wednesday evening.
The Prince of Wales, 42, looked smart as he greeted guests before taking to the stage to hand out all three awards at the Savoy Hotel.
He was greeted by Tusk founder Charlie Mayhew as he shook hands with guests ahead of presenting the awards and was sporting his fan-favourite beard, which has grown even more prominent in recent weeks.
And he was helped by Rolling Stones icon Ronnie Wood and Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, whom he met during a pre-wards reception.
Also present was Idris Elba, who himself has a whole host of royal connections: it was announced in October that he would be appearing in a documentary addressing knife crime alongside King Charles – and was Prince Harry‘s wedding DJ in 2018.
Tusk ambassador Wood, 77, previously sold a gorilla statue to raise funds for Tusk and Knopfler, 77, auctioned his guitars which raised £600,000 for the charity.
William said there ‘is a lot of creativity here’ and joked they had enough to start a band.
William said: ‘My youngest is learning the drums that’s why I spend my entire life with my fingers in my ears.’
Ronnie also told him that the gorilla auctioned for Tusk was given back to him and now sits in his garden.
Film producer Sally Humphreys Wood, 46, told William that she met his father the King last week at a BAFTA bash at Buckingham Palace.
And Knopfler, who was with wife Kittie Aldridge, 62, said he has 100 guitars left and hailed Christie’s for the auction for Tusk earlier this year.
William said to the rock stars ‘thank you for your support.’
He also spoke to sponsors including Land Rover and DHL about his Earthshot Prize in Cape Town.
Hearing from Nick Maugham Family foundation about conserving rare bongo (cor) antelopes, of which only around 100 remain in the wild, William said: ‘People forget how rare they are.’
Hearing the organisation’s efforts William said he was very ‘excited’ and hailed it as a ‘huge conservation success.’
Speaking about his Earthshot Prize he told guests: ‘We have to scale it up and I’m working on a few things.’
In a four-minute speech William warned ‘tonight is a reminder that our planet continues to face terrifying environmental concerns’.
He hailed the award winners for reminding ‘us of the importance of living at peace with nature’.
And speaking of George, Charlotte and Louis, he said ‘I want my children to live in a world where swallows still migrate, gorillas still live in the cloud forests of Uganda and rhinos still roam the arid rangelands of Namibia.’
William also presented the Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa to Nomba Gname, The Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa to Edward Aruna and the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award to Claver Ntoyinkima.
The Tusk Conservation Awards are an annual event which recognises conservation leaders for their pioneering work protecting wildlife and supporting communities across Africa. William is patron of the awards.
The awards first took place more than a decade ago in 2013, thanks to the collaboration between the Prince of Wales and investors, Ninety One.
The ceremony, which is held at the world-famous Savoy hotel this evening, awarded three victors for their work in the field.
Speaking about the awards previously, William has said: ‘These awards which mean a great deal to me personally, play a huge part in our mission to preserve Africa’s precious wildlife for its people.
‘It is vital that we recognise the dedication of these unsung heroes and the bravery of rangers risking their lives, day and night, on conservation’s frontline. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.’
Last year, the Prince of Wales also chatted to Wood at the awards – telling the Rolling Stones star he would only see them in concert if they brought out Taylor Swift, of whom he’s made no secret he is a fan.
Both men are long-term supporters of the event’s organisers, Africa-based charity Tusk Trust.
After chatting with the future king at last year’s event, Wood said: ‘We were talking about the tour and I said ‘come on, you’ve got to come out on tour’ and we were talking about the new album and everything. William said [he would] if we could get Taylor Swift there.’
Guitarist Wood told William that Swift had sung with Stones’ frontman Sir Mick Jagger and said the prince replied, ‘I’m there then.’
It comes a day after William marvelled at high-tech drones and tried his hand at firing a sniper’s rifle as spent the morning with the Welsh Guards in Salisbury.
William donned combats this morning when he spent time with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in his capacity as colonel of the regiment – a ceremonial role he has held since December 2022.
Tuesday’s visit to the Salisbury Plain marks William’s second royal engagement in as many days, after he inaugurated a new environmental project together with Oman’s Crown Prince in London yesterday.
For the past two years, the Battalion has led a number of historical ceremonial events – including the funeral for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, and as Trooping their Colour for His Majesty’s first Birthday Parade last year.
Additionally, the regiment has been carrying out overseas operations in the Falkland Islands and Oman.
But they are now transitioning back to Field duties and William’s visit was designed to see how the officers have been dealing with the change in pace – particularly regrowing the regiment’s specialist weapons capabilities to bolster their work abroad and in the UK.
William was dressed in combats and a beret as he arrived at the Salisbury Plain by helicopter, before changing into a protective vest and helmet – ready for an action-packed day at Westdown Camp.
