Royals take two paths over China

Prince William will pull off a major coup tomorrow when he records a television programme to be seen by 100 million Chinese people.

The Duke of Cambridge will speak to his biggest ever audience in a programme for Chinese state television highlighting the threat to endangered species posed by the trade in illegal wildlife products.

His stock has risen so much in China since his successful official visit there in March that he was given free rein to choose his own topic, and his own guests, for an edition of Let's Talk, a one-hour current affairs show on CCTV1.

In stark contrast to his father, who has repeatedly snubbed the Chinese to make a point about human rights abuses in Tibet, the Duke has decided that engagement with the Communist country is the best way to bring about change.

The Prince of Wales is boycotting a state banquet hosted by the Queen for the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, but the Duke will be in attendance. By then he will have recorded the special edition of Let's Talk, in the Maughan Library at King's College London, in front of an audience of around 80 students and invited guests.

It will be broadcast in China later this month.

The news raises the question of whether the Royal family's relationship with China has already skipped a generation by making the Duke the face of British royalty in China.

Although the Prince will have a private meeting with Xi during the four-day visit, it is the Duke, who met Xi in Beijing, who will have the easier rapport with the leader when he has his own one-to-one with him this week to discuss progress in banning ivory and other products.

No Let's Talk, he will be interviewed by the show's presenter before being invited to address the audience.

He has invited Sir David Attenborough, whose wildlife programmes are hugely popular in China, Bear Grylls, who has launched his own survival shows there, and the former basketball player Yao Ming to take part in a panel discussion.