filmmakers and environmental advocates, turns 100 today, and tributes are pouring in from all corners of the planet. Having been bestowed with several honors by Queen Elizabeth over the decades, including a first knighthood in 1985 and a second one in 2022 as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, several members of the royal family have personally paid tribute to the BBC presenter.
Prince William filmed a video message at Windsor Castle for his Earthshot Prize initiative, of which Attenborough is a founding council member. “Happy 100th David. I can’t believe it’s your 100th birthday. Thank you so much for your support for the Earthshot Prize,” William says in the clip. “Everything you do continues to inspire me.” Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, has previously said one of her favorite celebrities is Attenborough, having watched many of his nature documentaries with their eldest son, Prince George.
Meanwhile, his brother Prince Harry penned a tribute for TIME. Attenborough’s voiceovers on documentaries are famous for his melodic pitch, but the Duke of Sussex adds that metaphorically, his “voice is a lesson in wonder and planetary stewardship.”
“He has earned the world’s trust by simply showing us that our environment is worth appreciating,” Harry wrote. “He didn’t demand our attention, but drew us in with the wonder of nature all the same. In Attenborough’s approach, we find a vital lesson for our time: that wonder is a powerful precursor to protection, reminding us that we may only care for a world that we have first learned to truly value.” One of William and Harry’s last joint appearances (seen in the top photo with their father, King Charles) was to celebrate Attenborough at the global premiere of Netflix’s Our Planet in 2019.
The official Royal Family social media accounts also posted birthday wishes, sharing archival images of Attenborough with a young King Charles and Princess Anne as well as a photo of then-Prince Charles bestowing Attenborough with his second knighthood four years ago.
Attenborough was born in Middlesex, now suburban London, in 1926. He collected fossils as a child, and later studied zoology at the University of Cambridge. He served in the Royal Navy during the years immediately after World War II before joining the BBC. Attenborough’s on-camera career began almost by accident: He stepped in after another presenter fell ill. His television debut came as host of Zoo Quest in 1954, launching a career spanning eight decades that has included the Planet Earth franchise, The Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, and nine documentary series collectively known as The Life Collection. He is the only person to have won BAFTA Awards in black-and-white, color, high-definition, 3D, and 4K resolution.
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