Prince William puts on welly boots & wades into river to collect oysters on New York visit to unveil Earthshot finalists

PRINCE William has put on welly boots and waded into the Hudson after chatting to fisherman as he touched down in New York.

The Prince of Wales will hold talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during his whistle-stop visit to the United States to celebrate the 2023 Earthshot Prize finalists.

William will meet Mr Guterres during the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, as the city holds its annual climate week event - a gathering of business leaders, politicians and civil society aimed at driving the transition to a sustainable future.

The future king is making a two-day visit to the Big Apple to promote his Earthshot Prize, an ambitious environmental award, now in its third year.

Before meeting the global statesman, the prince has visited the Billion Oyster Project to learn more about the initiative which aims to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbour with the help of school children and volunteers.

He was snapped chatting with fishermen and children before donning waders and wellies.

On Tuesday, he will attend the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit where the 2023 finalists will be named and their projects showcased.

He will address delegates alongside other speakers including former New York mayor and business news mogul Mike Bloomberg, a global adviser to Earthshot Prize winners, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Earthshot trustee former New Zealand prime minister, and Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft.

William tweeted this evening: "It’s so good to be back in the United States. No one does optimism and ingenuity like the American people, so it’s only right we unveil this year's Earthshot finalists in New York City.

"80 years ago, the world came together in this great city to find a new way, through the UN to solve our shared challenges.

"I know our generation can take the bold action we need to make changes towards a healthy and sustainable world. The challenge may feel huge, but as John F Kennedy taught us, we rise to the challenge not because it is easy, but because it is hard. And vital."

The heir to the throne was due to attend the inaugural summit, held last year in New York, but was unable to travel as the royal family were mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth.

His prize aims to discover and scale-up ground-breaking solutions to repair the planet and £1 million in prize money will be presented to the winners in five categories, or Earthshots - Protect and restore nature; Clean our air, Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate.

Singapore will host the third awards ceremony in November, after prize-giving events were staged in Boston last year and London's Alexandra Palace in 2021.

It comes after Princess of Wales was seen bursting into laughter earlier today as she struggled to inflate her life vest during a visit to a Royal Navy airfield.

Kate touched down this morning at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton - one of the busiest military airfields in the UK.

She launched after managing to successfully inflate the gear in front of survival equipment technicians.