King Charles’ New Documentary Reveals What Has ‘Haunted’ Him For Many Decades
King Charles's new documentary premiered at a special screening at Windsor Castle, highlighting his passion for environmentalism.
King Charles has long advocated for environmental conservation, dedicating much of his work to encouraging care for the natural world. On January 28, his new documentary, Finding Harmony: A King's Vision, premiered at a special screening at Windsor Castle, highlighting those efforts. In the film, narrator Kate Winslet reflects on the challenges Charles initially faced in getting his message across, recalling how the media once mocked him for saying he spoke to his plants, an episode that has haunted him ever since.
According to Newsweek, in the film, Winslet acknowledged Charles's struggles as a young working royal championing environmentalism. She said, "While explaining his passion for organic farming to the press, Prince Charles made a comment that has haunted him ever since." She was referring to a statement he made in a 1986 TV interview, which led to multiple British news outlets ridiculing him. Charles had said, "I just come and talk to the plants, really—very important to talk to them; they respond." At the time, his remarks were considered bizarre because they clashed with the public image of a future king and were seen as eccentric rather than giving a good message.
Elsewhere in the film, when asked by the director whether he was worried about the state of the planet, Charles said, "Of course. That's been my main motivation for a long, long time, and you can see what's happening. But I mean the underlying principles behind what I call Harmony, I think we need to follow if we're going to somehow ensure that this poor old planet can support so many." He continued, "I've said that for the last 40 years, but anyway, there we are. So, that's why I get a bit, anyway…I can only do what I can do, which is not very much."
To promote his new documentary, the king pulled out all the stops for a star-studded affair. The private screening was witnessed by celebrity guests like Winslet, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dame Judi Dench, musicians Sir Rod Stewart and Jools Holland, and Stanley Tucci. Before the screening, Buckingham Palace said in a statement, "Finding Harmony will chart how The King's Foundation, which is headquartered at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, has sparked a global Harmony movement." The film also featured a sweet cameo of a young Prince Harry fly fishing with his father and Prince William sitting with him in a garden.
Back in 2010, the then-Prince had authored a book titled Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, which "looks at different aspects of our modern world to demonstrate how many of the challenges seen in areas as diverse as architecture, farming, and medicine can be traced to how we have abandoned a classical sense of balance and proportion." Amazon has now adapted the book into a feature-length documentary, which will be released on February 6, although a few lucky ones got to see it beforehand at Windsor Castle.
