The Prince and Princess of Wales reached out to offer their congratulations to Robert Irwin after he was crowned the champion of Dancing With the Stars in the US, along with his dance partner, Witney Carson.
Prince William is especially close with Robert, who is the son of the late conservationist Steve Irwin, through their work with the Earthshot Prize. Robert is an ambassador for William’s environmental prize but was unable to attend the awards ceremony in Brazil this year owing to his commitments to the show in the US.
Underneath Robert’s social media post celebrating his win, the couple wrote: “Congratulations Robert and Witney!” in a post which was accompanied by star and disco ball emojis.
The prince has closely followed along with Robert’s success on the show and previously surprised him with a video call from Brazil.
“We’re missing you, Robert,” William said on the call. He added: “Witney, you need to get him in as much glitter as you can. You guys have got a seriously good chance of winning it. So just the best of luck on the show.”
While Robert was ultimately crowned the champion, internet personality Alix Earle was the runner-up this season. Others who just missed out included gymnast Jordan Chiles, Zac Efron’s brother, Dylan Efron, and actress Elaine Hendrix.
Robert has been vocal with his praise for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize. Speaking in 2024, he said: “Young people feel almost helpless and so you have to say, no, there is hope. We all have the power to make change, we all have a voice.
“If they can look up to these incredible people from all over the word. You look at the Earthshot finalists and they are from every corner of the globe, from different backgrounds and cultures and they are all coming together for one common goal. What an awesome thing to get behind.
“The thing that really made me want to be part of it, the thing that hits home with me, is the similarities between what his Royal Highness Prince William has set up and what we and try and achieve with our charity, Wildlife Warriors.
“It’s great being in a room with people who are going ‘let’s fix this, let’s get it done, let’s get to work, let’s make the world a better place and we’re going to do it right now and no one can tell us different’.”