Almost seventy years Charles had been waiting to blow up his cuti of prince for that of king. Succeeding his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday September 8 in her Balmoral castle, King Charles III acceded to the throne at the age of 73. Known for his escapades, his scandals and his eccentricities, few know of the former Prince of Wales his very particular appetite for ecology. In a world that is burning and clearly on its way to ruin if the elite – or the PSG players – don’t stop throwing shots at all costs, wouldn’t an eco-friendly king be completely in his time?
“The British monarchy has always had a great sensitivity to nature”, responds immediately to 20 Minutes Victoria Pinoncely, Franco-British doctoral student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENM). “The Prince of Wales is a continuation of this sensitivity but on a more ecological level”, continues the one who has devoted her work to urban planning in the United Kingdom. Indeed, during all his years in the principality, the newly baptized Charles III, did not hide his sensitivity to the environment and the climate emergency.
A great defender of organic agriculture, alternative medicine or even short circuits, the prince has even created his own garden and his entirely organic farm in his Highgrove estate, located in the west of England. “Fascinated by responsible town planning and architecture, he also acquired an entire village called Poundbury, in the south-west of the country”, adds Victoria Pinoncely. An ecological “new town”, a model village in short, of a society in which living together would be in the direction of a healthy planet.
Eco-friendly prince, not really up to date
This attraction for nature and for environmental issues has long been a source of ridicule, however, recalls Charlotte Gould, professor of British civilization at Paris Nanterre. In the United Kingdom, we often laughed at this prince who “kissed the trees” and “ate his lawn”. »
Well, it’s true that we can’t deny a certain form of cognitive dissonance in the Prince of Wales either, between his interest in ecology and his not very “green” royal family in practice. Remember, however, that Queen Elisabeth is the monarch who has traveled the most in the world with more than 100 nations visited and 150 visits to Commonwealth countries.
“And the approach to the ecology of the future king is still very traditional, slice Charlotte Gould. Between the Prince of Wales and the members of the environmental movement “Extinction Rebellion”, for example, there is still a world. Charles III’s passion for botany did not prevent the future king from causing a scandal on the subject, among other things, of his numerous helicopter trips.
But even more than the taunts of its people and its two-speed green convictions, it is the wrath of the royal family on the subject that could hold him back more. “He has long been criticized by those close to him for expressing himself too much on these questions of ecology, while the formalism of the function of prince pushes him not to express himself too much, not to step out of the role and to respect the label”, explains to 20 Minutes Charlotte Gould.
Green prince, but not too much
Because yes, the question arises, is it the role of a monarch to issue an opinion on the fate of the planet? If driving an electric jaguar or becoming a vegetarian is within the reach of any good self-respecting king, taking an official position on socio-economic issues would be a bit of a frenzy. “His position as king will perhaps give him more leeway, but the duty of reserve should not be neglected,” predicts the professor of British civilization.
As a reminder, a right of reservation is basically the obligation to keep your personal opinions to yourself when you are a public figure. An art that Queen Elisabeth, we cannot take away from her, has handled extremely well during her 70 years of reign. And it is for this sole reason that, according to Victoria Pinoncely, “King Charles III will be able to do ecology, yes, but soft ecology”. Understand how to gently advance the subject via dedicated trips or inaugurations in this direction, but not really to move the (green) lines.
Because, according to our experts, this is not what the United Kingdom asks of its monarch but also because the political context of the country – the recent arrival at the command of the Truss government – is not frankly conducive to ecological upheaval . With a Prime Minister opposed to renewable energy and pushing back the deadline for carbon neutrality, the permaculture project at Buckingham Palace may have to wait…