Prince William made a new surprise appearance on TV on Tuesday night.

Prince William and Robert Irwin during the Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town in 2024 

Royal fans were delighted after they caught a glimpse of the Prince of Wales on the US edition of Dancing With The Stars. Prince William wished the “best of luck” to Earthshot Prize ambassador Robert Irwin prior to the Australian’s performance on the popular dance competition series.

A 20th birthday episode of the show aired on Tuesday evening in the US, with William among a number of special faces making an appearance. A pre-recorded clip showed Irwin, son of the late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, and his dance partner Witney Carson received a Zoom call from the future king in the lead-up to their performance.

“We’re missing you Robert,” William said on the call, which took place ahead of the Earthshot awards night in Rio de Janeiro last week.

Prince William delighted royal fans (Image: ABC)

Robert Irwin is an Earthshot Prize ambassador (Image: ABC)

Irwin, 21, had to miss the ceremony due to his commitments with the US version of Strictly Come Dancing.

“Whilst your ‘twinkle toes’ are going off elsewhere, I need you down here,” William said.

“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.”

The Prince of Wales was in high spirits 

Irwin and Carson went on to receive a perfect score for their Foxtrot performance, which Irwin dedicated to his father.

The prince used last week’s Earthshot awards to hail the next generation of environmentalists.

The annual event, now in its fifth year, aims to recognise and scale up solutions to “repair” the planet, with five winners awarded £1 million each to develop their ideas.