Royals

Prince Charles’ emotional message to the people of Australia as its bush fires continue to rage

The future king appears visibly upset as he shares his heartfelt message of support.
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In a moving display of empathy Prince Charles has delivered a heartfelt video message to the people of Australia as its bush fires continue to rage.

The future King of England appeared visibly upset as he began by saying this seemed a “hopelessly inadequate way of getting a message to you that both my wife and myself are thinking of you so very much at such an incredibly difficult time and in such impossible and terrifying circumstances”.

He went on to say that both he and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwell, have been “in despair over the last several weeks watching this appalling horror unfolding in Australia and witnessing so much of what you’re having to go through”.

“Those of you who have tragically lost your properties, your houses, everything – to me it is, and to both of us, not to be believed possible. And I know how many houses have been lost,” he said.

“But above all, we wanted to say how much we’ve been thinking of all those remarkable, courageous, determined firefighters who have done so much and worked ceaselessly to exhaustion. And we feel so deeply for the families of those who have been lost and have lost their lives in the course of carrying out their remarkable duties, as only they can do.

“We also think of all the Australian wildlife that is destroyed in these appalling infernos, let alone everything else.

“I know, we both know, just how incredibly special and resilient the Australian people are, so I know at the end of the day, despite all this horror, you will find a way to face it all and win through.

“All I can say is that we are thinking of you, we are praying for you in the most determined way … I’m very proud to know you all.”

His speech ends with a link to the Red Cross website, urging people to donate.

His video follows messages from the Queen and Prince Philip, as well as Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

The Queen and Prince Philip’s spoke of being “deeply saddened” to hear of the devastating impact of the fires.

Prince William and Duchess Catherine shared a message on Instagram saying their thoughts and prayers were with all the people and communities affected.

They offered their deepest condolences “to the families and friends of those who have tragically lost their lives, and the brave firefighters who continue to risk their own lives to save the lives of others”.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s Instagram message read: “Our thoughts and prayers are with those across Australia who are continuing to face the devastating fires that have been raging for months.

“From areas we are personally connected to such as the communities and people we visited in New South Wales in 2018, to the fires in California and parts of Africa, we are struck by the increasingly overlapping presence of these environmental disasters, including of course the destruction of the Amazon which continues.

“This global environmental crisis has now been described as Ecocide. It’s easy to feel helpless, but there’s always a way to help.”

It goes on to list links to follow to donate.

Prince Charles, who topped the list as the royal family’s hardest working royal in 2019, has worked tirelessly for many years as a champion of environmental issues, well before it became a mainstream issue.

During a speech at European Year of the Environment Eyecatcher Awards in 1988, the Prince said, “It would seem to me that there is still a prejudiced misconception in certain circles that people concerned with the environment, and what happens to this Earth, are bearded, be-sandalled, shaven-headed mystics who retreat every now and then to the Hebrides or the Kalahari Desert to examine their navels and commune with the natives!”

He instilled environmental values in his sons from a young age.

Twenty people have now been confirmed dead as a result of the fires, and around half a billion animals are said to have died in the blazes.

As reported by Stuff, the devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has made this season the worst on record. About 5 million hectares of land has burned and more than 1400 homes destroyed.

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