From the duchess of sussex when she met youth ambassadors from around the world at windsor castle. To underline her argument, prince harry turned up as a surprise guest as Sarah Campbell reports. It was a short drive in their electric car for prince harry and the duchess of sussex, from home to windsor castle. Good to see you guys, how are you . This, the first time they have both faced the camera since their revealing interviews aired on sunday night. The focus of discussion today between young people from countries including south africa, nigeria, malawi and bangladesh, was one meghan is passionate about. Gender equality, which has been something i have championed for quite a long time. Harry hadnt originally been invited, but his wife explained why he was there. You cant have a conversation about womens empowerment with just women. Right, and, so, for that reason, it made complete sense for him to join today, so thank you for letting him crash the party. Laughter. They both made clear their discomfort with the press. Prince harry wasnt expected here today, but he came to support the cause and his wife. It was the safest of spaces, behind the thick walls of windsor castle, with just a handful of journalists. Is there a bit of a generational gap, as well, as in the older men not necessarily wanting to change their habits . Their attendance was appreciated by the inspirational young people whod come together, like 29 year old amir ashour, sitting next to the duchess, whos spent the last five years campaigning to help the Lgbt Community in iraq. Its easy to say we should stand for gender rights, but its harder to actually take the action and do it, and its inspiring to see that both of them are willing to take that action. This was a meeting of minds from across the commonwealth and beyond and, giving them a global platform, the duke and duchess of sussex. Sarah campbell, bbc news, windsor. Now on bbc news, in this witness history special, Claire Marshall introduces us to five important moments in environmental history. Hello, and welcome to this special addition of witness history with me, Claire Marshall. Were at the museum and gardens in south london to bring you five people who have experience extraordinary moments in environmental history. Coming up, a survivor of the toxic waste scandal that devastated japan. The environmentalist who tried to solve mexico citys air pollution crisis, and we will remember the beginnings of organic farming in the uk. But first in 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first african woman to win the nobel peace prize. She was an environmentalist and human rights activists who founded the Green Belt Movement in the 1970s. But she repeatedly clashed with the government while trying to protect kenyas forests and parks. 0urfirst witness is her daughter, wanjira mathai. 0urfirst witness is her daughter, wanjira mathaai. My mother was often asked, were you afraid . You were fearless how can you do all these things . And she said, no, i was afraid. But she said, what needed to be done was so compelling, that i had to do it. She grew up surrounded by nature, surrounded by the beauty of nature. I also remember her describing her mother being a farmer. Her mother grew all the food that they ate. And then she goes away to school to university out in the United States and she comes back and joins the university as a very young member of academic staff. Singing. She was struck by the issues that were being presented by women who were very much like her mother. They were talking about lack of fuel, lack of water, and lack of nutritious food. And everything they described she felt was connected to a degradation of the landscape and so why not plant trees she asked them. The women here till the land. So it is important that they know how to conserve this soil. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to help women plant trees and at the same time begin to understand how to heal the land themselves. Its 50 Million Trees now and counting. Very quickly, the Green Belt Movement became more than just about planting trees because we had an extremely dictatorial government and we had a one party system. Public land was being parceled out to the friends of the administration of the day. And so protecting these spaces necessarily becomes political. Whistle blows. Karura forest was by far one of the scariest battles. People are showing a lot of anger because nobody knew the extent to which the forest was actually destroyed. It was vicious. She got very physically hurt, she was in hospital, but she survived and so whenever she survived, she knew it was time to go back and finish the work of saving the park. We are here in karura forest. One of the most beautiful urban forests in the world. And it is thanks to the Green Belt Movement and the efforts of my mother at the time that saved it. But she also was a human rights activist, a womens rights activist. I have no idea where these policemen are taking me now. I have done nothing to challenge the president and the party of the day, that was gutsy. Newsreel an ecologist from kenya has become the first african woman to win the nobel peace prize. Wangari maathai has spent more than. She just didnt believe that it was her i think for a while there. She probably thought maybe its a mistake, i dont know. But it was one of the most amazing moments to see her enjoy, the spotlight and the platform in a way she didnt have before. I think the whole day, she sort of spent saying, i didnt know anyone was listening. My mother died on september 25, 2011. Shes left quite a legacy i think. Certainly for us as kenyans, as women, as africans to believe in the power of one. I think the fact that one woman from the highlands of kenya could be such a potent force for change remains one of the most inspiring things for me. Wangari maathais daughter, wanjira. By the 1980s, a deadly cocktail of toxic factory fumes and car exhaust had turned mexico city into the worlds most polluted city. In response, the mexican authorities came up with an ambitious solution. Each of the citys 2 million vehicles was banned from the road for one day a week. Ramon 0jeda mestre is behind the initiative. Newsreel another miserable, choking day in mexico city. Without doubt the most contaminated capital on earth. The smog hangs like a shroud over the city slowly poisoning the 20 million inhabitants. Just breathing is like smoking 40 cigarettes a day. In spanish mexican traffic is the worst in the world. Millions of large, thirsty american cars crisscrossing the worlds second largest city without a thought for fuel conservation. And mexico citys 21 Million People still battled daily with the problem of pollution. Now, in the aftermath of world war ii, pesticides and chemical fertilisers started to become more widespread in the uk. Worries about the effect this would have on soil quality led Lady Eve Balfour to establish the Soil Association to promote natural farming techniques. Our next witness, john butler, has been a farmer all his life. The great thing about organic farming is you do all you can to build up life in the soil. Now, one of the chief ways of doing this is by using Natural Organic manures as opposed to artificial chemical fertilisers. Soil produces food. And without soil, hunger is the consequence. And we damage our soil at our peril. Now, when a soil is deprived of its protective layer, then destruction begins to break down. Then the structure begins to break down. The war brought in mechanisation. And then, development of chemicals. Newsreel in the struggle for greater food production, scientists all over the world have turned their attention to the control of weeds and pests by chemical spray. These things, most of them didnt smell very nicely, they werent particularly nice to handle. And many peoples deeper instincts were offended by them. They were usually called artificials, a derogatory term if you put artificial fertiliser near a worm, it will wriggle away from it. Its vile and vicious stuff. And it was only gradually that people began to see the deterioration of the soil and when it has lost its cohesiveness, then its subject to erosion. I remember very well standing here just in that field looking out over the horizon and just being horror struck to see a great dust cloud obscuring the horizon. In dry, sunny windy conditions in the spring and particularly, the fine soil particles on the surface get whipped up into a cloud that can rise into the air three or 400 feet. There is no soil erosion with good farming. If i went out and picked up a handful of my soil here, youd see its so alive, it almost walks off my hands. Its full of wiggly things. There was a classic book written by Lady Eve Balfour balfour there was a classic book written by Lady Eve Balfour who founded the Soil Association called the living soil that really made people sit up and think. Lady eve was an independent minded lady and she was interested in farming, one of the first women farmers. She was dear lovely. A bit frightening to begin with because she had short hair short, grey hair and a rather husky, deep voice. She pointed out that its obvious to anybody who looks at fertile soil that its alive, its a living thing really. Well, its got a mineral base of sand and grains of rock but this is all knit together with organic matter by microorganisms both plant and animal microorganisms which produce this substance called pumice which binds the soil together in crumbs. And this crumb structure is absolutely fundamental to the health of the soil. I was brought up with the saying, a good farmer leaves the land better than he found it. I never actually liked to call myself an organic farmer, i dont know, i like to be considered a good farmer. I love farming. Thats why ive been so richly rewarded. Ive put my heart into it and ive been the richest man in the world because of it. John butler remembering the move towards organic farming in the uk. Remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all our films along with more than 1,000 radio programmes in our online archive. Just search for bbc witness history. Next, one of the worst cases of industrial pollution injapan was first discovered in 1956 after residents in minamata on the island of kyushu noticed that cats had started to behave strangely. Soon, people began to suffer from splitting headaches, tunnel vision, and deformities. Fuji sa kamotos family was among those affected. Translation i cant tell you just how much i hate the chemical factory. Chisso corporation devastated our ocean and our people. I just hate it. People used to say that life in minamata was wonderful. Chisso corporation was the only one in minamata. We are still frightened by the awfulness of the mercury which was leaked from the factory. It poisons the fish, then people who ate the seafood got minamata disease. Newsreel there had been no poisoning before a chemical factory was built in the bay. But the company, the Chisso Corporation, denied all responsibility and continued to pump its waste into the sea. Translation cats got the disease before people. They went blind and danced around like crazy. Soon it was clear that people were suffering as well. Miyumi was my foster daughter. She couldnt eat fish well because she was only three years old, but she could eat prawns by herself so i let her eat a lot of prawns. We thought that something might be wrong with miyumi. We thought she might have the strange disease. When her hands started shaking, i realised she had the disease. She became unable to walk properly unable to speak. Doctors from the local university filmed the shaking fits. They suspected metal poisoning. Translation when i visited her in hospital, she had lost her sight, but she could still hear. I said to her, miyumi, your mum is here. You dont have to cry any more. She gave me a sweet smile. It was her last smile. 0njanuary 3rd of 1958, miyumi died. By 1958, we knew it was caused by chisso. Although chisso knew it was caused by water pumped in the bay by the factory, they tried to hide it. My second child. She contracted minamata disease in the womb. I did not think it was possible. But three months after she was born, i noticed that something was wrong with her. She is now 59 years old. In 1959, Chisso Corporation offered us some consolation money. Human life cannot be replaced by money. Fujie sakamoto remembering the mercury poisoning in minamata injapan. And finally, its more than 50 years since the first battle to save the Great Barrier reef from destruction. Despite the coral reefs fame for its biodiversity and beauty, in the late 1960s, the Queensland Government in australia was assessing applications to mine the reef and to drill for oil there. 0urfinal witness, eddie hegerl, remembers his campaign against the plans. The barrier reef has a wonderful array of fish. But really the things to me that are the more spectacular are the ones i know least about, and that is the variety of marine invertebrates. Its an enormous number of species. It is pretty hard to not have a day where you see something you have never seen before. In mid 1967, there was an application to mine on ellison reef. The men who wanted to mine it for limestone actually called it a dead reef. I and a group of colleagues who had been studying reefs and fish were actually asked to go carry out a Scientific Survey of the reef to determine if what he said was true. We spent five days diving and found it to be a perfectly normal reef, which certainly should not be allowed to be mined. The Queensland Government of the days attitude was that the reef was a nice pile of limestone that could be carted away to Southeast Asia and made into cement. The queensland premier thought that mining reefs would create lots of employment. He completely misjudged it. I had to start working full time just as a barrier reef campaigner. The volume of mail requests for information and media interviews was just enormous. The final decision over the mine application came about seven months later. It was only saying there would be no mining on ellison reef. The really big shock came on the 24th of december, 1968. The thought of having an oil industry throughout the reef region potentially was appalling. I thought this was going to be a lot harder fight because this was the worlds oil industry wanting to get a toehold and that was a very frightening prospect. We needed people all over the world to say to the Australian Government please dont do that. We want to come and visit australia and the barrier reef. Please dont drill the reef. People responded. They really did. The politicians got a huge amount of International Attention on the issue. And i think they started to realise this really was going to impact australian tourism. Having that National Legislation passed was really the decisive moment in 1975. The entire barrier reef region was proclaimed a marine park. No oil drilling, no mining, and that was the day we thought, we actually succeeded how about that . The reef isnt completely safe. Particularly, we have to deal with climate change. Fortunately, kids from high school, students and even others are getting to make a difference if theyjust keep on. Keep it up. That is all we need. Dont shut up. Keep it up. Eddie hegerl continues to campaign to save the barrier reef from climate change. That is all from this special addition of witness history. We will be back next month with more accounts of extraordinary moments in history. But for now, for me and the rest of the witness history team, goodbye. Have of the heavy rain in wales and parts of a win will clear as we go on through saturday and then the weather in scotland and Northern Ireland chilly but claire will take over a cross ireland chilly but claire will take over across the uk heading into sunday. This is a rain during weather front moving south into saturday but then we look to the north on sunday. A chilly breeze, sunshine and may be the odd shower. Until then concerned about rain totals mounting in parts of england but especially wales and south wales. Met office and i want to hear for the rain wales. Met office and i want to hear forthe rain and wales. Met office and i want to hear for the rain and travel disruption. 68 for the rain and travel disruption. 6 8 centimetres mental leaders and more into the hills. Big temperatures as we start from the uk and either side of this area and it is still raining in wales. The midlands and much of north england into south england as well. Horrible travel conditions as the day begins but it will all slough moving so his office doesnt mean it gets into east anglia for much of the afternoon. Akers up and wales and Northern England and even brightens up Northern England and even brightens up here. Scotland and Northern Ireland a few sunny spells, mostly in western parts of scotland. Top and Northern Ireland a few sunny spells, mostly in western parts of scotland. Top until across the uk. Winds are slowly easing. As for the temperature, the colder air is sinking southwards. 0ne were to have temperatures into the mid teens and then into the afternoon. But elsewhere for many of us, by the end of the afternoon just into single figures. Parts of east anglia and parts of southeast seaman, thunder clears away and still showers and Northern Ireland wintry on the hills. Cox go back on saturday night, and of british summertime. Nothing to do with the weather but appropriate enough on sunday we are in the blue, the cold air has moved in on sunday so it will feel suitably chilly on sunday. A touch of frost in places, lower temperatures in this the countryside but look at the difference on sunday and particularly where it has been so and particularly where it has been so wet. As youre aware northern scotla nd so wet. As youre aware northern scotland showers coming in. Most places are going to have a fine day, good deal of sunshine, crisp air, deaf and north, we will briefly have double figures but not for too long and sinking quickly on sunday night and sinking quickly on sunday night and clear skies and a frost on monday morning. It has been wet. Sunday is the date you appreciate some sunshine although it will be colder. This is bbc news im simon pusey. Our top stories. A day of deadly protests in iraq as thousands demand jobs and an end to corruption. At least 40 people are killed across the country. The bbc learns of six vietnamese families who fear their children are among the 39 people who died in the refrigerated lorry in eastern england. Protesters in chile force the suspension of congress in another day of demonstrations and violence. A federaljudge orders redacted parts of the Mueller Report to be released just hours after the Justice Department opens a criminal investigation into the origins of the russia probe