Prince George Organized a Cake Sale Benefiting a Cause Important to Dad Prince William
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince George
Prince George is already taking after his father Prince William in his passion for conservation.
Charlie Mayhew — chief executive of the charity Tusk, which works to protect endangered species in Africa — revealed that 8-year-old Prince George held a cake sale during COVID-19 lockdown to raise money for the organization, according to The Independent.
"Prince George very sweetly did a little cake sale to raise money for Tusk during lockdown and wrote a very sweet card about it, clearly demonstrating his concern for Africa's wildlife," Mayhew said.
Prince William, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday, has been a royal patron for Tusk since 2005 as part of his ongoing work to protect the environment.
Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Prince George and Prince William
Prince William previously shared his eldest son's concern for the natural world, revealing that Prince George was deeply saddened while learning about extinction.
"Having watched so many David Attenborough documentaries recently with my children, they absolutely love them, the most recent one — the extinction one — actually George and I had to turn it off, we got so sad about it halfway through," William previously told Sky News. "He said to me, 'You know, I don't want to watch this anymore.' "
Prince William continued, "Why has it come to this? You know, he's 7 years old and he's asking me these questions already, he really feels it, and I think every 7-year-old out there can relate to that."
Sir David Attenborough, we've got some questions for you...🌍🕷️🐒 pic.twitter.com/MTQ68WnOrt
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) October 3, 2020
Prince George had extinction on his mind in 2020 when he and siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were given the opportunity to ask Sir David Attenborough questions.
"Hello David Attenborough, what animal do you think will become extinct next?" George asked, and Attenborough replied he hopes that will not happen.
Chris Jackson/Getty
Prince William also sat down for an interview with the BBC ahead of the first Earthshot Prize Awards last year, where he shared that Prince George was frustrated when he took part in trash cleanup with his school.
"George at school recently has been doing litter picking, and I didn't realize but talking to him the other day he was already showing that he was getting a bit confused," said the Duke of Cambridge. "[He was] a bit sort of annoyed by the fact they went out litter picking one day and then the very next day, they did the same route, same time and pretty much all the same litter they picked up was back again."
He continued, "And I think that for him, he was trying to understand how and where it all came from. He couldn't understand, he's like, 'Well, we cleaned this. Why has it not gone away?'"
Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Prince William's advocacy for changes to environmental impact is a passion inherited from his father, Prince Charles — but he doesn't want his own children to have to continue the work.
"It shouldn't be that there's a third generation now coming along having to ramp it up even more," he told host Adam Fleming. "And you know, for me, it would be an absolute disaster if George is sat here talking to you or your successor, Adam, you know in like 30 years' time, whatever, still saying the same thing — because by then we will be too late."
