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Prince William has taken a major new step with the Earthshot Prize, and this time the announcement involves one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. The 2026 Earthshot Prize Awards will be streamed globally on Amazon Prime Video, marking the first time the ceremony has partnered with Amazon. In previous years, the BBC had been closely associated with broadcasting the event, but this time Prime Video will serve as the exclusive global streaming partner.
The announcement immediately attracted attention because Prince Harry has also reportedly been connected with a possible Amazon partnership involving the Invictus Games. However, unlike William's Earthshot agreement, Harry's reported arrangement has not been officially confirmed. That creates an interesting contrast between the brothers, with William's Amazon partnership now publicly announced while the possibility surrounding Invictus remains uncertain.
Welcome back to British Royal Family, where we bring you the latest updates and developments surrounding the British monarchy. The Earthshot ceremony will take place on November 17 in Mumbai, India, and it is expected to be one of the most internationally visible editions of the awards so far.
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The scale of the new streaming arrangement is particularly significant. Prime Video is expected to make the ceremony available across more than 240 countries and territories, with viewing offered in more than 40 languages. That gives the Earthshot Prize an enormous potential audience and takes the event far beyond the reach of a traditional British television broadcast.
This year's ceremony is also expected to attract an impressive collection of celebrities and public figures. Around 5,000 guests are anticipated to attend, with personalities from entertainment, sport, music, and film expected to gather in Mumbai. Actor Rami Malek, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt and Sonam Kapoor, and Bridgerton actress Simone Ashley are among the names associated with the event. Singer Shreya Ghoshal is expected to perform, while filmmaker Karan Johar is set to host the evening.
For William, who launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, the development represents another significant stage in the evolution of his environmental initiative. The project was created to identify and support practical solutions to some of the world's most serious environmental challenges. Each year, five winners receive £1 million to help expand their work.
The five Earthshot categories focus on protecting and restoring nature, cleaning the air, reviving the oceans, creating a waste-free world, and addressing climate change. The name Earthshot was inspired by President John F. Kennedy's famous Moonshot challenge, which sought to put a man on the moon within a decade.
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Since the first ceremony in London in 2021, the awards have become increasingly international. The event has traveled to Boston, Singapore, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro, and now Mumbai becomes the next major destination. The inaugural ceremony at Alexandra Palace featured Emma Watson and a performance from Coldplay, demonstrating from the beginning that Earthshot was intended to combine environmental campaigning with major global entertainment.
Interestingly, the Amazon announcement came on a day when William was also carrying out much more traditional royal duties in Wales. He visited the village of Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, where residents have experienced repeated flooding. The community has reportedly been flooded four times in six years, with one of the worst incidents occurring after Storm Claudia brought an extraordinary amount of rainfall within a single day.
William met residents whose homes and businesses had been affected before sitting down with representatives from the Welsh government, Natural Resources Wales, and the local council. One resident, Rob Wyatt, presented the prince with a carved Welsh spoon. William was there to hear directly from those affected and to understand concerns surrounding the response to the flooding.
The contrast was striking. On one side, William was sitting in a Welsh village hall listening to people dealing with the consequences of flooding. On the other, his flagship environmental project was announcing a huge international streaming agreement. Together, the two appearances highlighted the different dimensions of his public role.
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There is also an interesting BBC connection surrounding the announcement. British reports recently claimed that William held private discussions at Kensington Palace with BBC Director-General Matt Brittin. One reported subject was a possible documentary concerning Princess Diana ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death.
According to reports, William has previously rejected several proposals for documentaries about his mother. However, there has been no official confirmation that the BBC discussions had anything to do with the Earthshot decision. It would therefore be wrong to assume that the two events are connected.
William's relationship with the BBC has nevertheless been complicated. In 2021, he publicly criticized the broadcaster's handling of Martin Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with Diana, saying the circumstances surrounding the interview had contributed significantly to his mother's distress. William's major television project about homelessness in 2024 was also broadcast by ITV rather than the BBC.
Now attention turns toward Harry and the Invictus Games. According to British media reports, Amazon could potentially become a major commercial partner for the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. The event is scheduled to take place from July 10 to July 17 at the NEC Birmingham.
Harry established the Invictus Games in 2014 to provide wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans with an international sporting platform. The games have since been staged in several countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, and most recently Canada.
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However, the key point remains that the reported Amazon arrangement for Invictus has not been officially announced. Neither Amazon nor the Invictus Games Foundation has publicly confirmed the partnership. For now, William's relationship with Amazon is a confirmed announcement, while Harry's remains a reported possibility.
The timing is also notable because Harry and Meghan's relationship with major streaming companies has evolved considerably. Their Netflix agreement, originally announced in 2020, was later reduced to a first-look arrangement, while their Spotify partnership ended in 2023 after Meghan's podcast produced one season.
Despite those changes, Harry's commitment to Invictus has continued. The organization has developed into a major international sporting event, giving thousands of veterans opportunities to compete and connect with others who have experienced similar challenges.
William and Harry have therefore continued building separate public projects. William has Earthshot and his homelessness work, while Harry remains closely associated with Invictus and other charitable initiatives. Their professional paths are different, even when they occasionally intersect with the same companies.
The next major moment will come on November 17, when the Earthshot Prize ceremony takes place in Mumbai. William has attended every Earthshot ceremony since its launch, and Catherine joined him at the first ceremony in London and again in Boston the following year.
This time, however, the audience will be much larger. With Prime Video distributing the ceremony across more than 240 countries and territories, millions of viewers around the world will have the opportunity to watch the winners being announced.
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