Big Shot

Environmental Britishness seems set to continue at its accustomed glorious heights, thanks to next week's holding of an award-giving regal rah-rah at a venue owned by fossil fuel squillionaires. The Prince of Wales's Earthshot prize will be bestowed at a convention centre whose owners also run the world's biggest oil refinery. In addition the family firm has a private zoo eight times the size of Regent's Park, which was inaugurated by the Muslim-baiting nationalist Narendra Modi and which includes rare species obtained by methods so apparently dubious that even ministers in His Majesty's Government have been advised to keep their dealings as informal and deniable as they can. Fortunately, according to His Royal Highness, the aim of the prize is to "talk about urgency and optimism together," so there is little danger of the ceremony being widely misconstrued as anything to do with mere action.