Prince William makes surprise cameo on Dancing With the Stars

The Prince of Wales offered a surprising boost to Earthshot Prize ambassador Robert Irwin, sending words of encouragement ahead of his performance on Dancing With The Stars.

William made a surprise cameo in a pre-recorded clip for the show's 20th birthday episode, which aired on Tuesday evening in the US.

The segment showed Irwin, 21, son of the late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, and his dance partner Witney Carson receiving a video call from the Royal Family member.

The call took place prior to last week's Earthshot awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, which Irwin had to miss due to his commitments with the popular dance competition.

William light-heartedly told Irwin: "We’re missing you Robert." He continued, "Whilst your ‘twinkle toes’ are going off elsewhere, I need you down here."

Addressing Carson, he added: "Witney, you need to get him in as much glitter as you can. You guys have got a seriously good chance of winning it. So just the best of luck on the show."

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Following the royal encouragement, Irwin and Carson achieved a perfect score for their Foxtrot performance, which Irwin touchingly dedicated to his father.

'There's a lot of weight, because I really want it to be our best dance yet, to be honest,' Robert said.

Earlier in the series, Irwin had danced to “You’ll be in My Heart” by Phil Collins, which he dedicated to his mother, Terri.

Leading up to that performance, Robert spoke about his father, famed zookeeper Steve, who died in 2006 when he was only two years old.

“I was two when I lost dad, and as I got older, I started to realise just how hard it would have been for her to be there for us — and all the while, continue Dad's legacy that her and dad built together,” he told Carson as he began to choke up. “I struggle a lot with losing dad, a lot, and she always made sure my dad was present in our lives. I wanted her to know how proud my dad would be of her.”

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Season 34 of the beloved dance competition began in September with Corey Feldman, Jen Affleck, Hilaria Baldwin, Jordan Chiles, Elaine Hendrix and Whitney Leavitt amongst the stars taking part.

The Prince of Wales used the recent Earthshot awards to champion the next generation of environmentalists. The annual initiative, now in its fifth year, aims to identify and scale up innovative solutions to "repair" the planet, with five winners each receiving £1 million to develop their ideas.