'Heartbreaking' words from Prince George made William switch off Attenborough doco

Prince George was "distressed" by scenes of animals suffering in David Attenborough's extinction doco. Photo / AP

Prince William revealed he had to turn off David Attenborough's extinction doco after his son George got upset watching it.

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, said he was watching Extinction: The Facts on BBC1 last month but had to turn it off when Prince George "got sad", according to the Daily Mail.

The documentary was filled with "horrific scenes of destruction", such as monkeys jumping into a river to escape a huge fire and koalas looking for shelter from a forest blaze.

"He [George] said actually: 'I don't want to watch it anymore.' Why has it come to this? He's 7 years old and he's asking these questions," William said.

The heartbreaking comments come as William has launched the Earthshot Prize to award environmental efforts to tackle climate problems.

The Duke of Cambridge said he and Kate had watched several of Attenborough's documentaries with their kids.

"They absolutely love them but the most recent one, the extinction one, actually George and I had to turn it off because we got really sad halfway through.

"He feels it. And I think every 7-year-old out there can relate to that, so from an emotional point of view every parent wants to do the best for their children.

Prince George was "distressed" by scenes of animals suffering in David Attenborough's extinction doco. Photo / AP

"And I think we have to have a decade of change, a decade of repairing the planet so we can hand it on to the next generation and future generations and sustain the prosperity for their lives too."

The one-hour film shows the devastating results of pollution and draws links to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the beginning of the film, Attenborough warns that "we are facing a crisis" with "consequences for us all".

And it clearly had an impact on young George, who had some questions for Sir David in a Q&A filmed at Kensington Palace.

George asked: "Hello David Attenborough, what animal do you think will become extinct next?"