**Prince Edward has suggested the risk of death is part of the attraction of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme for young people.**The prince made the comments during a trip to Australia in response to a question about the death of a teenager on a hiking trip.
The prince told a newspaper he could not comment on the specific case.
But he said the award was popular as it offered an element of serious danger, that “you could die doing this.”
The Earl of Wessex was asked a question by The Australian newspaper, about the death in 2006 of a 17-year-old from Sydney, who had set off for a bush walk in the Blue Mountains as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
The Prince said he did not know the details of the case, but it reminded him of the death of a British boy in the scheme’s early years.
Boosted interest
He said that, despite concern from the award’s trustees about its future, the tragedy had actually boosted interest from the young.
The Prince said: “The sense of adventure, the sense of excitement, that it gave you that sort of risk element. That’s going back many years but young people are like that, there’s still that sense of adventure.”
The Prince went on to say that the scheme’s job was to give participants the skills to undertake challenges safely.
The prince is visiting Australia to promote the award and discuss its future at the International Award for Young People’s 10th forum in Sydney.