William hails Jane Goodall for ‘challenging us all to make a difference’

The Prince of Wales has paid a personal tribute to conservationist Dame Jane Goodall after her death at the age of 91, saying her “boundless curiosity, compassion and pioneering spirit transformed our understanding of the natural world”.

Heir to the throne William said the world’s leading expert on chimpanzee behaviour had inspired him and countless others to work to protect the environment.

His words follow those of his brother the Duke of Sussex, who forged a close bond with the famed primatologist and described her as “a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us”.

William, in a message on social media, wrote: “The world has lost an extraordinary voice with the passing of Dame Jane Goodall.

“Her boundless curiosity, compassion and pioneering spirit transformed our understanding of the natural world.

“She challenged us all to make a difference and inspired me and countless others to work to protect our planet. Jane Goodall made a difference. W.”

The future king established his Earthshot environmental prize to find solutions to protect the planet.

Dame Jane was in California on a speaking tour when she died from “natural causes”.

Harry and the Duchess of Sussex recalled in a statement on Wednesday how Dame Jane held their son Prince Archie as a newborn baby and “showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her”.

The Sussexes welcomed Dame Jane to their then-home Frogmore Cottage in 2019, where she cuddled Archie when he was just five weeks old.

Harry and Meghan told how they would deeply miss her, saying: “Dr Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us.

“Her commitment to changing lives extends beyond what the world saw, and also to what we personally felt.

“She held our son, Archie, when he was first born, and showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her. She will be deeply missed.”

The duke took part in a Windsor Castle meeting of Dame Jane’s Roots and Shoots youth empowerment project, which was set up in 1991 and now works in more than 60 countries, and the two kept in touch over the years.

Former US presidents Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were among those who celebrated her life and legacy, while Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio called her a “dear friend ” and personal “hero”.

Greenpeace, the global campaigning organisation dedicated to the environment, remembered Dame Jane as a “tireless advocate” who inspired “millions”.

She took to the Greenpeace stage at Glastonbury Festival last year and spoke about the planet, loss of biodiversity and climate change in a speech where she also acknowledged that “young people are still losing hope”.

Born in London in 1934, Dame Jane began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.

She arrived at Gombe Stream National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in July of that year, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of Africa.

It was there she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.

Her research on chimpanzees was the longest field study ever undertaken of any group of animals in the wild.

In 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.

Dame Jane was invested as a dame by the then-Prince of Wales, now the King, in 2004 at Buckingham Palace, when she praised Charles for his stand on GM foods.

The primatologist said, however, that her most prized distinction was becoming the UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

She had been due to speak at a sold out event at Royce Hall, a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), this Friday.