Prince Charles Heartbreak: Did Prince William Hurt Duke's Feelings For Not Acknowledging His Influence?
Prince William may have crushed Prince Charles' feelings after he said that his "single biggest influence" in advocating to save the environment is the naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The Duke of Cambridge said a statement to this effect in his ITV documentary, Prince William: A Planet For Us All, which aired on Oct. 5.
The statement did not escape royal commentator Russell Myers. During an episode of the podcast show Pod Save the Queen, Myers said that Prince Charles might not be happy to hear his son saying someone else's name when it came to his views about climate change, conservation, and the environment.
It's no secret that Prince Charles has had a long-standing passion for the environment since becoming the Prince of Wales more than 50 years ago. Despite being told time and again to tone done his eco-activism, as he will sit on the British throne one day, Prince Charles is still advocating for people to develop sustainable habits.
Prince Charles also actively participated during September's Climate Week observation in the virtual platform. He warned of a looming disaster if no "swift or immediate" steps are taken to reset and refocus on sustainable efforts.
But, Myers might not have heard Prince William said, in the same documentary, that his father, as well as his grandfather, Prince Philip, have been ahead of their time when it came to eco advocacy. William is also on the same page as Prince Charles when he said that climate change is not just an environmental disaster but it's also a humanitarian disaster.
As with Prince Charles, Prince William has been urging people to pick up the pace and act on this pressing global problem because the future of the children is at stake.
Meanwhile, Prince William and Attenborough might have a close relationship today but Prince Charles knew the naturalist when he was only nine years old. According to reports, Attenborough was then a presenter on BBC in the 1950s when he introduced his cockatoo to a young Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
From then on, the bond between the naturalist and the royal family solidified. The Queen often worked with Attenborough for her annual Christmas address to the public. The monarch also knighted the environmentalist in 1985.
It's also no secret that Prince William idolized Attenborough more than anyone in the royal family. For Attenborough's 90th birthday in 2016, Prince William said in his tribute that the naturalist is a "national treasure."