Buckingham Palace has released a decades-old video of King Charles delivering a striking warning about pollution, highlighting his long-running concern for the environment.
The clip, filmed in 1970, shows a 21-year-old then-Prince Charles speaking in Cardiff about the dangers of environmental pollution at a time when few public figures were raising the issue so openly.
The footage appears in the documentary Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, which explores the King’s lifelong interest in environmental protection and his work through The King’s Foundation.
Sharing the clip, Buckingham Palace said: “In this clip from Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, a 21-year-old Prince of Wales speaks out about pollution at a time when few in public life were willing to do so.”
In the speech, the young Prince warned about the “horrifying effects of pollution” and pointed specifically to oil pollution at sea and chemicals being discharged into rivers.
“We are faced at the moment with the horrifying effects of pollution in all its cancerous forms,” Charles said.
He continued: “There is the growing menace of oil pollution at sea. There is chemical pollution discharged into rivers from factories and chemical plants, which clogs up the river with toxic substances and adds to the filth in the seas.”
The clip has resurfaced as climate concerns remain high around the world, and it underlines how early Charles began speaking about environmental issues.
After he became King in 2022, there was speculation over whether his public climate work would slow down due to the demands of the throne. However, Charles has continued to support environmental causes.
Most recently, he hosted a major summit on “super pollutants” at St James’s Palace, bringing together global leaders and officials to discuss ways to tackle some of the most harmful contributors to climate change.
The newly released footage offers a reminder that the King’s environmental advocacy did not begin in recent years. It has been a central part of his public life for more than five decades.
