Charles is now King – what will having an environmentalist as monarch mean for the planet?

‘After billions of years of evolution, nature is our best teacher,’ the new King has previously commented. Saphora Smith looks at how Charles’s beliefs could still make an impact

An ardent environmentalist is now the King of the United Kingdom.

King Charles III, who ascended to the throne after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, has spent the last half century advocating for sustainability, organic farming and the importance of tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

In his first speech on the environment, in February 1970, the then Prince of Wales warned of the “horrifying effects of pollution in all its cancerous forms”.