Why King Charles Was 'Way Ahead Of The Curve' On Sustainable Living, Former Royal Chef Reveals
Buckingham Palace recently shared archived footage of the then-21-year-old Prince to commemorate London Climate Action Week.
King Charles has strongly supported sustainable living long before he ascended the throne. Buckingham Palace recently shared archived footage of the then-21-year-old Prince to commemorate London Climate Action Week. In the clip, Charles highlights the harmful effects of industrial pollution and advocates for reducing super pollutants. Because of his extensive efforts to promote clean living and biodiversity, he earned the moniker 'the Mad Prince' from the British tabloids, a title that the King’s former head chef, Visen Anenden, feels should be dismissed.
Anenden stated that Charles was "way ahead of the curve" when it came to a healthy, food-based lifestyle. Further shedding light, the former chef revealed that living with the King was "like an encyclopedia of learning about seasonality, vegetables, and organic meats." While discussing the daily meal intake and source, Anenden recounted that everything was produced in-house at the Duchy Estate, ensuring self-sufficiency. The ex-royal chef emphasized that all ingredients, including milk pasteurized for double cream, were sourced locally, along with homemade breads, cakes, and juices. "What King Charles preaches, he does," he added, Marie Claire reported. Anenden went on to confess that he encountered a significant "learning curve" when he began working for Charles in the early 2000s, as the food industry then did not prioritize sustainable, organic food like it does today.
"From a chef’s perspective, when you come from restaurants, at the time I was learning, there was no such thing as heritage produce, seasonality, or ethical sourcing, nothing about that when I was starting out," he said. Charles emphasized consuming seasonal produce, prompting Anenden to develop recipes using ingredients sourced from the Highgrove gardens, Balmoral estate, or from local sources while the monarch was on the move. "Charles was way ahead of the curve," the ex-royal chef concluded. "They called him the Mad Prince, but that can be taken back. He was always about sustainability and sourcing more British produce." Meanwhile, Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, which was released this February, aptly traced Charles’s vision long before it became a fad.
In the trailer that was released, the monarch can be seen reflecting: "I have dedicated much of my life to the restoration of harmony between humanity, nature, and the environment. Quite frankly, it has been an uphill struggle." On Earth Day, April 22, 2026, the monarch was honored with a prestigious Green Blue Peter badge at Dumfries House in Scotland, recognizing his relentless dedication to environmental conservation and sustainability.
