Earthshot Prize has a new addition to its board: José Andrés. The chef and World Central Kitchen founder has teamed up with Prince William in what an insider has dubbed an example of the “power differential” between the future king and his estranged brother, Prince Harry. Ahead, Andrés’s connection to the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, and details on his Earthshot Prize role.

José Andrés is now a board member for William’s Earthshot Prize

On Sept. 3, 2024, The Eartshot Prize announced on its website that Andrés, who founded the humanitarian food program in 2010, is joining the Earthshot Prize Council. That means he’s teamed up with the Prince of Wales, 42, to select five winners for the annual prize.

“I am thrilled to join the Earthshot Prize Council to help showcase the changemakers pushing the boundaries of innovation and ingenuity around the world,” he said in a statement. “There is so much we can do to inspire the world to see food as a powerful tool for creativity and change, and Earthshot solutions are at the forefront of this movement.”

Winners will be announced in November when The Earthshot Prize heads to Cape Town, South Africa. Previous winners were unveiled at ceremonies in London, England (2021), Boston, Mass. (2022), and Singapore (2023).

José Andrés | Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

Andrés’ Earthshot Prize involvement is a ‘graphic illustration’ of William and Harry’s ‘power differential’

Discussing Andrés joining the Earthshot Prize Council, a former royal publicity adviser told The Daily Beast: “José Andrés is a uniquely respected figure. And he was very much promoted by the Sussexes over the Covid years.”

The World Central Kitchen received funding from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation at the time. When the couple made the Time 100 list in 2021, Andrés praised them in a profile for the publication.

Meghan even contributed a recipe—lemon olive oil cake—for a World Central Kitchen cookbook. She and Harry later asked fans to donate to his organization for their daughter Princess Lilibet’s first birthday.

“The fact that William can just poach him for Earthshot is not just humiliating for Harry and Meghan,” they said. “It is a very graphic illustration of the power differential between William and Harry.”

“Faced with a choice, when it comes to advancing the goals of his organisation [sic], Andrés has chosen to be allied with the future king of England. And Harry and Meghan will have to either accept it or cut ties with him themselves.”

Something similar happened in 2023 with Jacinda Ardern

Andrés isn’t the first big name associated with Harry and Meghan to join forces with William and The Earthshot Prize. Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand, announced she’d be joining the Board of Trustees in April 2023.

The announcement came after Harry and Meghan developed a rapport with the then-prime minister during a 2018 royal tour. Ardern later distanced herself from the couple after the release of Live to Lead’s trailer. She noted her connection to the Harry and Meghan-produced Netflix documentary had been through the Nelson Mandela Foundation.