Prince William gives a speech during the meeting of the United for Wildlife Taskforces

The Duke of Cambridge continued his busy week of royal engagements by making a speech at St James’s Palace today.

Prince William, 37, who is the president of United for Wildlife, attended a meeting of the United for Wildlife Taskforces in London on Tuesday.

This is the second engagement in two days for the father-of-three, after he attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit at Buckingham Palace last night with Kate Middleton, 38.

During the speech the Duke of Cambridge called on organisations to help end the ‘abhorrent crime‘ of illegal wildlife trade, following what he called an ‘encouraging’ year of seizures and investigations. 

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Wearing a navy suit, a crisp white shirt and a patterned red tie, William looked serious as he delivered  his speech on unity to the room.  

William welcomed Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to St James’s Palace for a meeting of the United for Wildlife Taskforces.

Addressing the meeting, chaired by Lord William Hague and attended by US ambassador Woody Johnson, William called it an ‘exciting time’ for the two taskforces to be coming together.

‘We start this year, and indeed this decade, in a very strong position,’ he said.

‘The world’s largest transport and financial companies – many of whom are represented here today – are changing their everyday procedures.

‘It is now becoming business as usual for transport companies to track down illegal wildlife products in their cargo, and for banks to investigate and report suspicious transactions related to illegal wildlife crime.’

But the duke acknowledged how ‘crucial’ the commitment from the Transport Taskforce and Financial Taskforce was, ‘because sadly the demand for wildlife products has not diminished’.

‘There are still too many criminals who know that they can find a market and believe they can act with impunity,’ he said.

‘Everything that you do to root out corruption, improve your processes and techniques, and flag suspicious activity to law enforcement helps make this trade too risky for criminals to stomach.’

The duke said it was ‘encouraging’ that last year saw a record number of wildlife seizures and investigations.

He praised Operation Blizzard, co-ordinated by Europol and Interpol, which resulted in 12 arrests and more than 4,000 seizures of live reptiles.

William concluded his address by thanking Lord Hague, the organisation’s chairman, for leading it ‘so deftly’.

He then asked the organisations to play their part in helping to end the ‘abhorrent crime’ of illegal wildlife trade, which includes the poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins.

‘Please, please bring new ideas to the table, maintain and increase our momentum, and play your part in ending this abhorrent crime,’ he said.

Created in 2014, UfW was founded by the Royal Foundation, a joint venture between William, Kate and Harry.

Last night marked William’s first solo reception at the palace, after his brother Prince Harry, 35, flew to Canada last night to be with Meghan Markle, 38, after a deal was reached on their departure from the royal family. 

On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is ‘taking a leap of faith’ in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but ‘there really was no other option’.

Harry gave an emotional speech, where he told the ‘truth’ about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a ‘more peaceful life’ for his family.

The duke attended his first public event since the announcement was released on Saturday that said from the spring, the duke and duchess will stop using HRH, spend the majority of their time living in Canada, and pay back the taxpayers’ money spent renovating their Frogmore home.

He told invited guests: ‘What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you. 

‘Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

‘I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.

‘But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.’