It is hard to believe that it is 35 years since Prince Edward made his dramatic departure from the Royal Marines. He found being a prince and a serviceman incompatible and quit before the end of his training. Edward, who celebrates his 57th birthday this month, knew he had made the right decision, although he had no idea what else he was going to do. There are comparisons to be drawn with the Duke of Sussex, who also had difficulties with his princely status, although in contrast to Edward, the army was the one place Harry felt he fitted in as ‘one of the lads’.
Sadly, Harry may well lose his military appointments as it will soon be time for the Queen and her advisors to review the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s roles as proposed 12 months earlier. Whatever happens, Harry certainly feels he has done the right thing by no longer being a working member of the royal family, despite the sadness it caused. One regret is that – due to pandemic travel restrictions – he has not been able to meet up with his father or grandparents for a year. In that time the Prince of Wales and his elder son the Duke of Cambridge have become closer, especially because of their united efforts for saving the planet.
With that in mind Prince Charles has launched his most ambitious environmental project yet, evoking the history of the Magna Carta – ‘Terra Carta’, the Earth Charter – to support international agreements on the climate, raise billions of dollars to invest in nature and, most ambitious of all, to be able to protect over half the planet by 2050.
‘If we consider the legacy of our generation, more than 800 years ago Magna Carta inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people,’ Charles said. ‘As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of nature must represent a step-change in our “future of industry” and “future of economy” approach.’
The prince is no slouch when it comes to raising money, and working to save the planet has been his pet project for 50 years. He even co-wrote a book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World,published in 2010, extolling the virtues of living in harmony with nature, which is what Sir David Attenborough encourages us to do through his brilliant TV documentaries.
‘I am making an urgent appeal to leaders from all sectors and from around the world to give their support to this Terra Carta, to bring prosperity into harmony with nature, people and planet over this coming decade,’ Charles said. He is as good as his word and already has investors such as Bank of America, HSBC, Heathrow Airport, Unilever, BP and Drax among the first of many important signatories.
On a more homely note, it has been confirmed that before the death of the Cambridge family’s pet, Lupo, Prince George and Princess Charlotte were allowed to choose a new puppy thanks to their uncle James Middleton, whose black cocker spaniel Luna produced a litter of six last summer.
