Prince William brought traffic to a standstill in Belém today after halting his convoy for an impromptu walkabout, as dozens of locals pressed against barriers and chanted “William, William” while jostling to take selfies with the Prince of Wales.
Video from the scene showed the prince leaning over railings to greet people, pose for photographs and chat with families outside his hotel before departing for his final engagement in the Amazonian city.
The good-natured scrum unfolded as William wrapped up a high-profile Brazil visit centred on the Earthshot Prize and a string of environmental events ahead of the Cop30 climate summit, which Belém will host next year.
Crowd scenes have followed the prince throughout the tour, but today’s stop in Belém was the most spontaneous.
As the convoy rolled away from his hotel, the Prince of Wales asked his detail to pause so he could greet well-wishers pressed along the glass frontage and metal barriers.
Smartphones shot into the air as he moved down the line, smiling for selfies and exchanging a few words with children at the front.
The short walkabout lasted only a few minutes before he was ushered back to his car to keep to the schedule for his closing engagement in the city.
The trip began in Rio de Janeiro earlier this week, where he staged the fifth annual Earthshot Prize awards at the Museum of Tomorrow, honouring five winners for innovative climate and nature solutions.
Prince of Wales forced to stop car as Brazilian crowd chants: 'William, William!'
|GB NEWS
In Rio, the prince met finalists beneath Christ the Redeemer, walked a “green carpet” with international performers and used his awards-night speech to argue for optimism and practical action in the face of the climate crisis.
He also highlighted indigenous-led conservation and grassroots programmes with young people, positioning the prize at the “halfway point” of its decade-long mission to scale solutions.
William’s itinerary then shifted north to the Amazon region. In Belém, he linked his Earthshot week directly to next year’s UN climate gathering, meeting community groups and visiting local museums focused on rainforest science.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joined parts of the programme, underscoring the political heft of a royal visit that blends soft-power diplomacy with a push for environmental innovation.
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Prince William taking a selfie with a royal fan in Brazil
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The Belém finale caps a week designed to amplify Brazil’s environmental story as much as Britain’s.
Earthshot’s 2025 winners included projects from South America, Africa and Asia, with categories ranging from nature protection to clean air, oceans, waste elimination and climate revival.
Brazilian and global stars like Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue helped draw attention to the awards night.
Brazilian and global stars like Shawn Mendes and Kylie Minogue helped draw attention to the awards night
|REUTERS
Meanwhile, William’s team used the platform to convene investors and NGOs around finalists’ scale-up plans.
The Prince of Wales’s approach throughout the tour has been to steer questions back to Earthshot and the work of the finalists, even when broader royal topics are raised.
In Brazil, he repeatedly framed climate action as a source of hope, urging audiences to “leave divisions behind” and back practical solutions and the people delivering them.