King Charles teams up with Prince William’s key ally for‘urgent’ mission
King Charles and Prince William seemed to have put their differences aside to focus at the task at hand, as they join forces for a crucial mission.
The monarch and his heir may disagree on many things but they have stood united on the matter of protecting the natural environment and taking steps to alleviate the planet’s problems. Charles had instilled these values in both his sons, William and Prince Harry, very early on.
The King is now supporting the Prince of Wales, who founded the Earthshot Prize for finding practical solutions to help the planet, with a surprise podcast interview with Hollywood star, Cate Blanchett.
Cate, who is a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, was joined by Kew’s senior research leader in seed conservation, Dr Elinor Breman, to talk about seed conservation with the King.
Filmed back in July at Windsor Castle, the podcast, titled Unearthed, is meant to celebrate the world-renowned and innovative seed bank in Wakehurst, The Millennium Seek Bank, which was set up 25 years ago, to preserve seeds before they are wiped out by climate and environmental pressures.
The Thor: Ragnarok actress is also an ambassador for Wakehurst and spoke about the “urgency” of the work being done by the seed bank. She shared that she was “shocked” to learn that “97% of the wildflower meadows have been decimated”.
The King agreed that the work of the seed bank is vital to preserve biodiversity for future generations. He shared that he was “very proud” to be the patron of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and noted that it was “wonderful what the seed bank is doing”.
Although, he stressed that there was a need to “speed up the process” as he knew about the “damage that has been done to all our flower-rich meadows since the war”.
Cate noted that one can “destroy in one day by just ploughing it up takes practically a hundred years to replace”.
King Charles praised the work of the seed banks, stating that it was “absolutely incredible” how they have been working.