Prince William paused for a quiet moment of reflection as he recreated the moment his mother, the late Princess Diana, visited Christ the Redeemer during a tour of Brazil in 1991
12:54, 05 Nov 2025Updated 14:59, 05 Nov 2025
Prince William recreated an incredible scenic picture featuring his mother, Princess Diana, on a visit to the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
On his third day in Brazil, the Prince of Wales paused for a quiet moment of reflection at the exact spot where the late Princess of Wales posed in 1991, during a six day tour the country with the then Prince Charles. In perfect sunny conditions, William followed in his late mother’s footsteps as he travelled to the summit of the Corcovado Mountain in Rio to marvel at the 98 feet tall monument.
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Prince William at Christ the Redeemer in Brazil today(Image: Getty Images)
Princess Diana on a trip to Rio in 1991(Image: Getty)
Completed in 1931, it was designed by Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted by Paul Landowski, depicting Jesus Christ with arms outstretched. The global icon and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
At the summit, which was closed off to the public for the Prince’s 45 minute visit, William looked over the stunning Guanabara Bay, before turning to recreate his mother’s picture.
On arrival, William was taken to the chapel at the base of the statue by Padre Omar Raposo, The Guardian of The Sanctuary, Christ The Redeemer.
Ahead of the fifth instalment of William’s Earthshot Prize awards tonight, William also met the 15 finalists hopeful of landing five £1million prizes to upscale their planet saving ideas.
William met his Earthshot Prize finalists at the Rio landmark(Image: Getty Images)
Diana at the statue in April 1991(Image: David Hartley/REX/Shutterstock)
The Prince spoke to them about their experience of the Earthshot Prize Finalist Programme, the project running alongside the Prize to support each of the finalists for a year in their bid to market their innovations.
Charles and Diana’s 1991 tour saw the couple visit the capital Brasilia, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and the Amazon located city of Carajás in the state of Pará.
The former Prince of Wales, focused on environmental issues, including a day-long seminar on conservation aboard the royal yacht Britannia near the mouth of the Amazon River, co-hosted with Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello.
In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Princess Diana made headlines for holding hands and cuddling children with HIV/AIDS without hesitation, a significant gesture at a time of widespread stigma and misunderstanding about the disease.
William paused for a moment of reflection(Image: Getty Images)
Diana’s work on humanitarian causes was given extra focus with visits to hospitals and centers for abandoned children across the tour, many of whom were HIV positive or suffering from AIDS.
Newspaper reports at the time highlighted the couple’s increasing strain. While they appeared together at official events, they pursued separate agendas, with a notable distance between them.
The prince spent time with British finalist Adam Root, founder and CEO of Matter, whose invention removes microplastics from water pumped out by washing machines and industrial units, preventing them from reaching the ocean.
William is joined by his Earthshot Prize finalists this morning (Image: PA)
William told him he was planning on installing his innovative filters to remove microplastics in the washing machines across the royal palaces. “An amazing idea,” William said. “We’ll pay full price!”
“We can definitely do that,” Adam said. Adam from Essex developed the filter at his mother-in-law’s dining table, supported by a £250 grant from The Prince’s Trust, now The King’s Trust, to begin building his invention.
The business started off building filters for household washing machines, but has since raised more than £15m for its work and employs about 45 people.
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