Meghan Markle dazzles Oscar de la Renta at the awards ceremony in Sydney

The Duchess of Sussex was wearing an exquisite cocktail dress during a ceremony in Sydney tonight, just hours after being confronted with an air drama with Prince Harry when their plane halted his landing.

Just hours after landing in Australia, Meghan had become her stunning Oscar de la Renta designer dress to attend the Australian Geographic Society's Gala at the Shanghai-La Hotel.

Meghan and Harry both gave prizes. It comes after their Qantas charter flight from Tonga, a Boeing 737, pulled out of the runway at Sydney Airport a few seconds before landing.

His pilot, Nigel Rosser, explained by the tannoy system that another plane on the runway had been "slow to roll" and that the two planes were too close. He explained that the decision had been made "to abandon the landing".

By the time they left the ballroom, where the awards were held, to meet the winners, Meghan was holding a toy wombat that had been given to her for her unborn baby. Ironically, Prince William was nicknamed "wombat" by his mother, Princess Diana. Meghan also received a "numbat", a small long-haul marsupial from Western Australia.

Earlier, the pregnant Duchess of Sussex was dazzled in a green and white cotton designer dress while she and her husband met with Tonga's prime minister and his deputy during the final leg of their tour Royal marathon of 16 days.

Today, the Queen was honored at the Australian Geographic Society's event with a special award for the conservation of her initiative to showcase the fate of the world's forests.

The award, for his "outstanding contribution" to global conservation, was accepted on his behalf by the Duke of Sussex and recognizes the impact of Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, an initiative launched in 2015.

After winning the award, the Duke of Sussex delivered a passionate speech, in which he had warned that there "could no longer be any excuses" to protect the planet.

Harry warned: "We can not continue to pollute the oceans with plastics and other wastes. We can not continue to breathe polluted air by cutting down our forests or reducing our emissions.

"We can not stay there and let our wildlife disappear from the land and our fish from the sea. I think we can agree tonight that there can no longer be any excuses.

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of everyone in this room and the environmentalists and environmentalists of the past, we are ready to translate our awareness into action. Each of us will have to stop the clock on the destruction of our planet, and time is not on our side.

"The level we are going at is the one we accept. It is time to take responsibility and realize the privilege we have to live next to nature. Thank you for your dedication to our environment, our planet, our future, our Mother Nature. & # 39;

Chrissie Goldrick, editor-in-chief of Australian Geographic, said the queen had offered her "vital leadership" to a project "to fight deforestation on a global scale".

After her launch, she said, "The Queen quickly lent her enthusiasm and support to this initiative. It is an ambitious initiative.

He added: "It aims to better protect the indigenous forests of the world and regenerate those that have been degraded or destroyed. So far, 42 of the 53 countries that make up the modern Commonwealth have added more than 90 projects to the canopy in a very short time. It's an idea that has really taken off.

She also described how Harry was a member of the South Pole Club. "It's usually a very exclusive club, except when you're attending an event at the Australian Geographic Society. There are many people who went to the South Pole!

She described him as "a passionately committed advocate for the environment" and stated that "in Australia, he had put to use" your popularity, your influence and your undeniable charisma to attract the world. pay attention to a series of questions that are important to you ".

She added, "When people like Your Royal Highness love so much affection, when you talk, people listen … You can change hearts and minds."

The Duke and Duchess, arriving late for the ceremony because of the flight delay of Tonga, were present to award two prizes.

The duke awarded the prize of the young adventurer of the year to Jade Hameister. At the age of 17, she skied to the North Pole at the age of 14 and became the youngest woman to cross Greenland a year later. This year, she also made a 37-day trip to the South Pole. She is the youngest person to complete the polar hat trick.

The Duchess presented the prize of the young conservationist of the year to Sophia Skarparis. Aged 15, she launched a petition this year to ban plastic bags in New South Wales, which led to a meeting with the Prime Minister and his petition debated in the NSW Parliament this week.

Sophia Skarparis, 15, who won the Young Conservator of the Year award, then spoke to the couple.

She said, "They congratulated me for this award and said how inspiring it was to see the next generation move on to action.

"Harry, in particular, was incredibly passionate about our work. Meghan told us to continue the great work. She said that she was really inspired to hear what we had achieved. & # 39;

Australian Geographic editor Chrissie Goldrick said, "My head is still spinning. It's incredible that he came to our event. It was a dream for us to bring him here.

& # 39; This [the environment] it's family. Not only do we have Prince Harry among us, who defends the environment with strength, he does not make the weight, but we also have Prince Charles, a long-time environmentalist of the 1970s, the Queen who is behind the Queen & # 39; s Commonwealth Canopy Project in a major way.

"You have three generations of this family who are mobilizing for the environment.

"They really have the power to help people focus. I can believe we are still arguing about climate change.

"So, when you meet people like this, and they are not politicians, nor states, nor scientists who convey this message, they come forward. & # 39;

Ms. Goldrick, born in Manchester, added: "Harry said that he really liked being part of society here tonight because it was a room filled with people who were trying to change the world. & # 39;