Prince William shares very personal message about Princess Kate ahead of trip to Cape Town

has spoken of his close connection to Africa as he prepares to head to Cape Town for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.

The Prince of Wales, 42, has shared a personal message before his , where he spoke of his teenage years, his proposal to his wife, the Princess of Wales and how the continent was the birthplace of his ambitious global environmental award.

On Wednesday, the five winners of this year's prize will be unveiled at the Earthshot Prize Dome, a purpose-built venue beside Cape Town Stadium using a structure designed and engineered in South Africa.

The prince, special guests and more than 1,000 members of the public will watch an ambitious show before the winners of the £1million award are announced.

William said: "Africa has always held a special place in my heart - as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and most recently as the founding inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize.

"It was in Namibia in 2018 that I realised the power of how innovative, positive solutions to environmental problems could drive transformative change for humans and nature.

"I am proud that since its inception The Earthshot Prize has travelled to Europe, North America and Asia, spotlighting and scaling 45 groundbreaking solutions, all of which are having a tangible impact as we work as a global collective to secure the future of our planet."

The prince launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, which aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism by championing inspiring leadership and helping to scale incredible cutting-edge solutions.

During William's four-day trip, he aims to showcase young African environmentalists, spend time with local communities and meet with the country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

He will also give what Kensington Palace has described as a landmark speech on nature, the environment and his support for wildlife rangers, at the start of a two-day summit for United for Wildlife, his umbrella organisation combating the illegal trafficking of animals.

The Prince added: "By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues.

"I firmly believe that if we come together with collective ambition and urgency, we can reshape the future of our planet."

The awards ceremony will be staged on the Prince's penultimate day in South Africa at a reusable dome that has been used for a number of events, with an estimated 650 jobs created or working on building the structure.

The venue is the biggest of its kind in Africa, with a width of 36m, a height of 15.5 metres and a length of 144m, twice as long as a rugby pitch.

An exclusive performance by Lebo M. of Circle of Life from The Lion King, will open the show on Wednesday evening, pre-recorded at the top of Table Mountain.

It is the first time that such a performance has been recorded at Cape Town's most iconic site, providing an impressive opening to the Awards Ceremony which will be broadcast in 50 countries across Africa via the Multichoice network, in the UK on BBC iPlayer, and around the world on YouTube.

Hosted by American actor Billy Porter and South African TV presenter Bonang Matheba, the fourth-annual Earthshot Prize Awards will feature special appearances from Davido, Heidi Klum, Ndlovu Youth Choir, Nina Dobrev, Robert Irwin and Winnie Harlow.

For the first time, more than 1000 members of the public have been invited to attend Awards Ceremony in Cape Town, having been invited in recognition of their long-serving commitment to their local communities.

Ahead of the Awards, The Earthshot Prize will host its first-ever livestreamed Green Carpet

Event, which will profile the need to focus on sustainable approaches to fashion - by reducing, recycling and using low-impact materials.

Guests have been asked to 'rewear' their wardrobe or spotlight African designers to highlight the importance of sustainable fashion and local creatives.

To celebrate Earthshot Week taking place in South Africa, Table Mountain and other Cape Town landmarks will be lit green from November 4-7, following on from famous sites being lit green in London, Boston and Singapore over the past three years.