The Prince of Wales was joined today by a galaxy of stars from the cricketing world as he turned the iconic Mall in the heart of London into a makeshift cricket pitch. Icons from both the United Kingdom and India joined him for a special Earthshot Prize event taking place in the lead-up to its annual Summit and Awards Night, this year taking place in Mumbai in November. West Indies legend Brian Lara was present, as was former Indian cricket captains Ajinkya Rahane and Sourav Ganguly; England Test Captain Joe Root; Harry Brook, England white-ball captain; Danni Wyatt Hodge, England Women’s cricketer; and Nat Sciver-Brunt, England Women captain. The event celebrated the deep and enduring ties between the two nations and their shared passion for cricket. And it saw the future king take to the crease for an informal game of cricket, organised by the team at Backyard Cricket, to celebrate the Prize’s upcoming celebration in India. Players were also joined by the team from Tailenders, including Greg James, Sir Jimmy Anderson and Issy Wong. India is already home to more Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists than any other country, and Mumbai will host the biggest Awards yet.

Founded by Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental award designed to identify, back and celebrate groundbreaking leadership in environmental action. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize is designed to mobilise a decade of action for the planet. Backyard Cricket UK is a massively popular, fast-growing crew that has taken the internet by storm. Based out of North Yorkshire, the crew focuses on making cricket accessible, highly nostalgic, and intensely entertaining by taking the sport back to its roots.

Backyard Cricket was created by brothers Mark and James Wood. They now have grown their team, the core recurring "Backyard Boys" line-up includes Mark (Captain), Archie, Drew, Joe, and James. It comes after it was revealed that the Prince of Wales will join King Charles and Queen Camilla for a rare joint public engagement to mark the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, which claimed the lives of 116 schoolchildren and 28 adults.

The royals, the Mail can reveal, will travel to the small South Wales village next week to pay their respects to the 144 victims of the worst mining disaster in British history, and the community that has sought over the last six decades to heal. They will visit on October 21, 60 years to the day a vast colliery waste tip collapsed onto Pantglas Junior School and neighbouring houses with such devastating loss of life. The avalanche of black slurry, which had been dumped on the hillside above the village, consumed everything in its path, including the classrooms at Pantglas which were packed with children excited for half-term, which began the next day.

Such was the extent of the devastation that entire streets in the village found themselves without a single child left. There will be a particularly poignant moment for King Charles, who has asked to meet a schoolboy pictured with his late father, Prince Philip, the day after the tragedy. There was fierce criticism back in October 1966 when the late Queen chose not to visit Aberfan until eight days after the disaster.

While Prince Philip and Prime Minister Harold Wilson visited the site the day after the tragedy, Elizabeth, acting on advice from her private secretary, Lord Charteris, stayed away believing her presence would hamper rescue efforts and overshadow the grief of the family. Lord Charteris later admitted it was a mistake, and the Queen herself came to view the delay as one of the biggest mistakes of her reign. When she did visit, journalists - including the late Brian Hoey writing for the Daily Mail - noted that Elizabeth seemed unusually emotional and shaken by the grief of the families she met. There has long been debate as to whether it was one of the rare moments she wept in public.