‘Amazing person’: Robert Irwin reflects on meeting with ‘great guy’ Prince William

It feels like Robert Irwin has been everywhere lately – from appearing in a bold new ad campaign to hitting the bright lights of Las Vegas while honouring his late father, Steve.

But what really makes the 21 year old wildlife warrior gush is the chance to meet “hero environmentalist” Prince William and share their mutual passion for saving the planet.

Robert recently teamed up with Prince William after he was named a Global Ambassador for the Prince of Wales’ Earthshot Prize and the activist could not contain his excitement as he chatted with US Weekly about the meeting.

“I think Prince William has been such an amazing person to work with, and there is such an incredible synergy between what he does and who he is and who we are,” he said.

“It’s all about conservation.

“I think it’s wonderful that someone so influential – that has such a fantastic platform – is using that to really better our environment.”

Officially launched in 2020, the annual award recognises and supports five winners in building a waste-free world, clean air, protecting nature, saving the oceans and fixing the climate.

It was established by Prince William to search for “and scale the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges” and was inspired by US President Kennedy’s “moonshot” challenge.

Robert continued to praise the Prince of Wales, sharing what an honour it was to be recognised by the heir to the throne.

“He is a true environmental hero, and so working with him has been a great privilege,” he said.

In addition, Irwin highlighted how the prince wants to “prioritise” the environment, saying William is “at the forefront” of that movement.

“We’ve definitely compared a lot of notes in the conservation space,” he said.

“We need to prioritise taking care of our natural world. And he’s really at the forefront of that.”

He was also impressed by how easy it was to speak to Prince William during their shared moments together, admitting he was “just a great guy.”

“When you have a conversation with him, he’s the most lovely, intelligent person to talk to and is just so easygoing, so much fun,” he said.

The same could be said for the youngest Irwin, which is not the only thing the young men have in common having both grown up in the glare of the media while navigating the loss of a parent who meant so much to so many.

Robert was not yet three years old when his father, Australia Zoo co-founder Steve Irwin, died in a freak accident. Steve was filming a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef when he was pierced in the chest by a stingray.

Since then in a previous interview, Robert revealed that fans of his dad still come up to him daily to talk about Steve’s legacy.

“Having lost someone at a very young age, I love getting little pieces of him back. That’s what it feels like,” he said.

“When I see a picture of Dad or footage, I actually love having his presence around and living in Australia Zoo. He’s everywhere. The images and the pictures, the video and the sound, he’s still part of every day for me.”

Since Steve’s tragic death in 2006, Robert and his older sister, Bindi, have continued to work tirelessly on continuing the legacy that Steve had created at Australia Zoo.

– with BANG.