Prince William and Heidi Klum Have Barbecue by the Sea on Final Day of South Africa Visit

Mar. 15, 2025

ActorBilly Porterand modelWinnie Harlowalso joined William at the event in Kalk Bay Harbor, where the group spent some time talking about the 4thannual Earthshot Prize Awardsheld on Wednesday, Nov. 6. while having a traditional South African barbecue, known as a “braai.”

Prince William with Heidi Klum, Winnie Harlow and Billy Porter.Phil Noble - Pool/Getty

Phil Noble - Pool/Getty

One, Kate Wardle, 47, handed him some special gifts. “I bought some beaded key rings from the local lady selling them here. They had W and C on and three others for the kids,” she tells PEOPLE. “I said ‘Here they are if you would like to take them.”

“He said thanks. And ‘never go home empty handed!’ ”

Prince William and Heidi Klum share a barbecue in Cape Town.Aaron Chown/Pool/Shutterstock

Aaron Chown/Pool/Shutterstock

She adds, “He was so natural and relaxed and down-to-earth. I appreciate him coming here as he must be so exhausted after this week. To have him visit us in Kalk Bay. It means a lot to us here.”

Prince William talks to the public at Kalk Bay Harbor.Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

“I wished Kate well and he thanked me and said ‘That’s very kind,’ ” she added.

Another young man was keen to press as much royal flesh as possible. “I’ve shaken your hand before,” William laughed. “I never forget a face.”

Prince William onboard a life boat in Cape Town.Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty

Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty

William was in Kalk Bay Harbour to highlight the contributions of Abalobi, which works with small fishing communities to record their catch data and ensure a fair and improved livelihood from sustainable fishing.

The organization was an Earthshot Prize finalist in 2023 and aims to protect small-scale fishing communities and nurture their ocean stewardship, while also keeping their customers appraised with information about the origins and sources of their seafood.

On Thursday, William and the rest of the group were told about sustainable fishing methods and shown the technology used to log and track catches. They then took part in a traditional fish braai with members of the local community working in and around the harbor, including Kobus Van Der Merwe, a local chef and supporter of Abalobi.

Klum, 51, told PEOPLEat the Earthshot Prize ceremonyon Nov. 6, that when she was devlvng “deeper” into William’s environmental project “I learned so many new things. Who knew there was sustainable fishing?”

“I’m so honored to go with him to this place to learn about sustainable fishing. I knew our waters are overfished and they’re polluted and all of these horrible things. But I didn’t know about sustainable fishing. I love that I get to learn more things and hopefully be better in the future. Also, I love doing my part. We should all do our part.”

About halfway through the visit, some of the local fishermen and women began shouting from outside the wire fence around the harbor.

They were upset that they were not included in the “festivity,” explains Mymoena Poggenpoel, 67, who is from a family of generations of fishing boat owners.

“We welcome anyone to our harbor,” she tells PEOPLE.

“We’re not opposing anything — we love the people to come to Kalk Bay. Our boat owners and our fishermen weren’t included in this. Abalobi is a company on its own that’s not part of this historical fishing harbor,” she adds. “We are not disrespecting him. We are private owners here for generations, so why weren’t we included? Anyone is welcome, but you can’t use our harbor for our convenience.”

She continues, “But they haven’t included us in this festivity that’s happening. We would have loved to welcome Prince William with open arms, which we did. But we also have a right to say what we want to say because we’re part of this historical industry.”

“I own two vessels. It’s grossly unfair. Had we been included we could have had masses and masses of our community here,” she continues. “We’re into survival of our fishing industry here. That’s what we’ve done for our fathers, to our forefathers. We aren’t opposed to anything, but the inclusivity should have been there.”

Prince William poses for a selfie with performers and presenters during the 2024 Earthshot Prize.Phil Noble-Pool/Getty

Phil Noble-Pool/Getty

Serge Raemaekers, the co-founder of Abalobi, told reporters at the event, “I have a feeling that the noise in the background was very much around the fact that we haven’t reached these fishing communities yet. We’re still a relatively small program trying to scale, and as you can see here, there are quite a lot of boats with fishermen and fisherwomen that come from a lot of different areas.”

“Through apartheid and post-apartheid there’s no fishing community here anymore. There’s a whole bunch of fishers who are able to have their boat here, but they live far and wide. We haven’t been able to reach them all, but we’ve started working with the cooperatives from Kalk Bay,” he adds.

“I’m imagining that this fishery felt, ‘Hey, I’m being left out here,’ and I understand. In the last couple of years, small scale fishers have had a tricky engagement with obtaining fishing rights,” Raemaekers says.

It came a day after his fourth Earthshot Prize ceremony in the city.

Prince William meets life boat crews in Cape Town.Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty

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“These are young global climate leaders, who want to be able to support through mentorship and workshops. But also how best we can be able to support them with the tools they need to scale up and, who knows, one day they might be finalists.”

This is the fourth time for Earthshot. “The reason why we are able to keep it fresh is traveling the different continents. Where to next, right? I’m not going to tell you it – though I think we all know!”

source: people.com