The Speeches

50 years of speaking up for the planet

As Prince of Wales, our founder His Majesty The King made dozens of speeches raising awareness of environmental problems from plastic pollution to global warming and ecological collapse, highlighting the importance of traditional knowledge and indigenous rights, and popularising concepts like the circular economy and natural capital. To mark the launch of our new YouTube channel, RE:TV has worked with a cast of actors, activists and environmental campaigners to revisit lines from some of the inspiring speeches he made. 

Despite their stark warnings of the approaching ecological crisis, the speeches also offer a vision of a sustainable future where we live in harmony with nature, and encourage us all to play our part in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis so future generations can enjoy the planet.. As the then Prince of Wales said in his interview for the original RE:TV launch film in 2020; “There is real hope, but we’ve just got to get our act together, and we’ve got to remember that it’s the natural world that sustains us.”

With thanks to: Idris Elba, Olivia Colman, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Jack Harries, Charlie Mackesey, Danny Clarke, Tayshan Hayden Smith, Melissa Helmsley, Leah Thomas, Fatou Jeng, Patrick Holden, Janine Benyus, Thomas Crowther, Richard Barley, Dr Moses K Langat, Solene Dequiret, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier.