Prince William Called Out Billionaires' "Space Race" Amid Climate Crisis

They need to check their priorities.

birmingham, england december 07 prince william, the duke of cambridge attends the unveiling of the victoria cross commemorative paving stones representing each of birminghams 1st world war recepients at the hall of memory, centenary square on december 7, 2015 in birmingham, england ten stones were unveiled after a short service of memorial by the bishop of birmingham the rtrev david urquhart with speeches by the lord mayor of birmingham, councillor raymond hassall and brigadier anderton brown photo by richard stonehousegetty images
(Image credit: Richard Stonehouse)

Prince William is not at all impressed with the "space race" instigated by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. In a new interview with the BBC, the future king implied that we clearly have bigger fish to fry right here on planet Earth, and that those billionaires would be better off turning their attention to the climate crisis instead.

"The idea that space race is on at the moment, we've seen everyone trying to get space tourism going, it's the idea that we need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live," the Duke of Cambridge said.

This comes after William Shatner of Star Trek fame flew out to space on a trip facilitated by Amazon founder Bezos. Shatner came home with a newfound appreciation for planet Earth, which he called "this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around us" compared to the "black ugliness" of space (via the Guardian).

But Bezos himself sees things differently, and wants to create "space colonies." Founder of SpaceX Musk, meanwhile, wants to make humanity a "multi-planet species" (via BBC).

For Prince William, their priorities are all wrong. "I want the things that I've enjoyed, the outdoor life and the sort of nature and environment, I want that to still be there for not just my children but everyone else's children," he said. "If we're not careful, we're robbing from, you know, our children's future [with] what we do now. I think that's not fair."

The royal also spoke about how a passion for the environment has run through four generations of his family, with Prince Philip's involvement with the WWF, Prince Charles advocating for eco-friendly practices for decades even when it wasn't mainstream, and Prince George going "litter picking" with his school.

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london, england april 23 in this screengrab, prince william, duke of cambridge, catherine duchess of cambridge, prince george of cambridge, princess charlotte of cambridge and prince louis of cambridge clap for nhs carers as part of the bbc children in need and comic relief big night in at london on april 23, 2020 in london, englandthe big night in brings the nation an evening of unforgettable entertainment in a way weve never seen before raising money for and paying tribute to those on the front line fighting covid 19 and all the unsung heroes supporting their communities photo by comic reliefbbc children in needcomic relief via getty images

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Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.