King Charles is determined not to leave a legacy that his grandchildren might criticize for neglecting the environment. At 78, the monarch remains committed to environmental causes, driven by a deep-seated responsibility to combat climate change. This commitment is particularly personal, considering his role as a grandfather to the children of his sons, Princes William and Harry, from his marriage to the late Princess Diana.

In a recent appearance on the documentary “Steve Backshall’s Royal Arctic Challenge,” King Charles delved into his longstanding engagement with environmental issues. The documentary revisits his impactful 1975 journey to the Canadian Arctic, a trip that solidified his lifelong dedication to the planet’s well-being.

King Charles wants to protect the planet for future generations

Reflecting on the urgency of environmental action, he observed, “These things are rescuable, but it seems very peculiar to me that in other areas everybody takes what the scientists are saying as absolute vital truth, but in this case for some reason or other it is not so apparently simple.” With this, he underscores the perplexing skepticism that sometimes surrounds scientific consensus on climate issues, a skepticism he finds at odds with other scientific fields.

Speaking on documentary Steve Backshall’s Royal Arctic Challenge, which looks back at the royal’s trip to the Canadian Arctic in 1975, he said:

“These things are rescuable, but it seems very peculiar to me that in other areas everybody takes what the scientists are saying as absolute vital truth, but in this case for some reason or other it is not so apparently simple.

“You have to just go on trying, I find, because I mind, for what it’s worth, about the younger generations.

“To me, it is not fair to leave them something in a far worse state than I found it, if you know what I mean. The whole point, I have always felt, is to improve it for people, so they don’t have a ghastly legacy of horror to have to deal with.

“That’s why I spent all these years, because I don’t want to be accused by my grandchildren of not doing anything about it. That is the key.”

The Canadian Arctic trip for the then-Prince of Wales was a “formative experience” of him and helped to shape his passion for the environment.

Charles braved a 30-minute under ice dive, which organisers have now admitted was more dangerous than his team realised, after showing an interest in experiements being carried out by Canadian scientists.

He laughed: “I’m afraid I’ve always tended to live life dangerously.

“Thank God I was young in those days, I could never have survived now. I think I’m too old to go back.”

He added of the “fascinating experience”: “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

“It was amazing in those days. Thank God I saw (the Arctic) as it should be. I learnt a great deal from going there.

“That’s the tragedy now, that it’s all going so fast. I was very glad I was able to see it and I just want others to witness the same thing.”

Charles noted wildlife has been unable to adapt to its changing landscape quickly enough and warned it is causing a “disaster” for humanity.

He said: “This is what I’ve been trying to warn about for years.

“We have forgotten, I think, that we are as well totally connected with nature. The problem is trying to rediscover this link. What we do to nature is fundamentally a disaster for ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Joseph MacInnis, a physician and researcher, who accompanied Charles on the dive in Resolute Bay – which is now known as Nunavut – admitted “there were some prayers” ahead of the dive.

He said: “Here I am taking the future King of England underwater, and I am carrying this kind of burden of knowledge of what the hell can go wrong. And there is a long list of things.”

Asked if his security team were aware of the risks, he said: “They were not divers, they didn’t realise the risks. I mean, they had an intuitive sense. But, no, I don’t think they did…

“He wanted to see this alien place. He wanted to test himself, he was very keen to see how he could deal with the stress.”

The documentary sees Steve retrace Charles’ steps to highlight the impact of climate change.

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