Royals

Prince Charles met Greta Thunberg and revealed why he doesn’t want to disappoint his grandchildren

The future king attended the World Economic Forum in Switzerland revealing he doesn’t want his grandchildren to think he didn’t do enough to try and save the planet.
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It’s no secret that the Prince of Wales cares deeply about the planet and what’s being done to decrease the effects of climate change.

So, when he met 17-year-old Greta Thunberg in Davos, Switzerland you’d think they’d bond over their mutual passion for protecting the planet and while, of course, that was the case, there was another surprising thing the two bonded over – the awkwardness of being in the spotlight.

Meeting for the first time in front of the bright, relentless flash of cameras at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Greta was heard telling Prince Charles: “I guess you’re very used to this.”

To which he replied, “This has taken many years to get used to.”

“I’m still not used to it,” Greta told him.

Prince Charles has described 17-year-old Greta as “remarkable”. (Image: Twitter/@ClarenceHouse)

Prince Charles had high praise for the teen climate activist, while also admitting he didn’t want his grandchildren Princes George and Louis, Princess Charlotte and little Archie, to grow up thinking he hadn’t done enough to try and save the planet.

“Well [Greta’s] remarkable,” Charles told the CNN.

“She represents one of the main reasons why I’ve been trying to make this effort all of these years, because, as I said, I didn’t want my grandchildren to accuse me of not doing something about this in time.

Adding, “And of course there they are, all her generation, almost my grandchildren if you know what I mean, all desperate because not nearly enough has happened – we’ve left it so late.”

Prince Charles admitted he didn’t want his granchildren to think he hadn’t done enough to try and help save the planet when they were older. (Image: Getty/Chris Jackson)

Prince Charles drove approximately 128km from St Gallen to Davos in a fully electric Jaguar I-Pace to attend the summit, where he introduced a Sustainable Markets Initiative.

The 71-year-old who has been actively involved in environmental issues for more than 50 years said in an address that 2020 must be the year “that we put ourselves on the right track”.

“Just think for a moment, what good is all the extra wealth in the world gained from business as usual if you can do nothing with it except watch it burn in catastrophic conditions,” he asked.

“This is why I need your help, your ingenuity and your practical skills to ensure that the private sector leads the world out of the approaching catastrophe into which we have engineered ourselves.”

Adding, “We simply cannot waste any more time. The only limit is our own willingness to act. The time to act is now.”

Prince Charles’ involvement in environmental issues and concern for the planet is also something he passed down to his sons Prince William and Prince Harry.

In the documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70, William and Harry said that even from a young age their father instilled environmental values in them. In fact, the two princes admitted that he even took them litter picking on holidays.

“He took us litter-picking when we were younger, on holiday,” Prince William confessed.

“We were in Norfolk on school holidays… And again, both of us thought, ‘Well this is perfectly normal, everyone must do it’. We were there with our spikes, stabbing the rubbish into plastic bags.”

Prince Harry added that he used to get the “mickey” taken out of him at school for picking up rubbish.

William and Harry revealed their father Prince Charles used to take them litter-picking in the school holidays. (Image: Getty)

They also shared they have adopted the habit of always turning off light switches when they leave the room, which Harry even admitted at first confused his wife Duchess Meghan when they moved in together.

The brothers explained that while turning off the lights was a very small action, small actions that can be taken when it comes to helping to decrease the impact on the environment can have a big payoff in the long run.

“All of a sudden it becomes a habit and those small habit changes [father] is making, every single person can do,” Prince Harry said.

“And I think it’s one of the key lessons that [Prince Charles] taught us.”

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