He may be the future King with a never-ending list of royal duties to carry out and charities and patronages to support, but Prince Charles is also a real environmentalist at heart.
The average member of the public may not be aware of the Queen's son's passion for the planet. He has been hailed as being ahead of his time in his knowledge and understanding of the environmental crisis.
For over fifty years, he has campaigned for a sustainable future, and for the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. He first spoke out about plastic pollution in 1970 and will be the first to admit that people thought he was "dotty" for caring so much about the environment back in the day.
"I haven't eaten meat and fish on two days a week and I don't eat dairy products on one day a week" - Prince Charles
On a more personal note, since 2007, he and his wife Camilla's household has been recording its emissions and significant changes have been made to reduce fossil fuel use. Now, around 90 per cent of their residences' energy comes from renewable sources. Rainwater is even used to flush the toilets in one of their rooms at Highgrove, while food waste is turned into fertiliser.
Charles made headlines last month when he announced he has been cutting down on his meat and dairy consumption. "I haven't eaten meat and fish on two days a week and I don't eat dairy products on one day a week," he said ahead of the UN Climate Change summit.
He also revealed that his Aston Martin runs on bio-ethanol made from wine wastage and a cheese by-product, while he uses a fully electric Jaguar I-Pace when travelling to engagements in London.
In 2017, the green-fingered royal was awarded The GCC Global Leader of Change Award for his outstanding contribution to global environmental preservation and protection.
Charles also received a special Lifetime Achievement Award from GQ magazine for Services to Philanthropy. Starring on the magazine's cover, he discussed the importance of sustainable fashion.
As well as his environmental crusade, Charles also works daily to support his mother the Queen, and is patron or president of over 400 charitable organisations. His other interests include music and the arts, and the welfare of young people and the disadvantaged.
One of his patronages, Marie Curie, shared an insight into having Charles as their patron, telling HELLO!: "HRH The Prince of Wales has been patron of Marie Curie since 2003 and has very kindly supported the charity in an abundance of ways, including visiting staff and patients at our hospices, and hosting a special reception at Clarence House to celebrate 30 years of our flagship fundraising campaign, the Great Daffodil Appeal, held every March.
"On the first anniversary of lockdown, Prince Charles recorded a video message in support of a National Day of Reflection organised by Marie Curie to reflect on our collective loss during the pandemic. We are immensely grateful to the Prince for helping us ignite this moment to support each other through grief."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
