King Charles has surprised royal fans by making a podcast appearance alongside Cate Blanchett.
The monarch, 76, sat down with the Oscar winner, 56, to discuss the world-renowned Millennium Seed Bank at Kew Gardens, for the Unearthed Podcast, which is run by the conservation centre.
The podcast was the monarch’s second ever after appearing on Apple’s The King’s Music Room in March.
During the episode, Charles, who has been a Patron of Kew since 2016 praised the work of the seed bank, which was founded in 2000 and now holds nearly 2.5 billion seeds from more than 40,000 species in order to protect them from extinction due to climate change and habitat loss.
The seeds have been carefully cleaned, dried and stored in walk-in freezers at -20C at Kew’s wild botanic garden Wakehurst in Sussex.
The special podcast episode, which also features Dr Elinor Breman, senior research leader at Kew, was recorded to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Millennium Seed Bank and is titled ‘Unearthed: The need for seeds’.
The discussion took place in July in Windsor Castle’s private gardens, where the trio talked about the seed bank, its origins and its achievements, as well as its ongoing work.
Charles, who has spent more than five decades championing environmental causes and sustainability, also demonstrated his knowledge of the science and practice of conservation techniques during the discussion.
King Charles (centre) marked the 25th anniversary of Kew Gardens’ Millennium Seed Bank by recorded a secret podcast with actress Cate Blanchett (right) and senior research leader Dr Elinor Breman (left)
However, the King lamented that while he believed the seed bank’s work was ‘wonderful’, there was a need to ‘speed up the process’.
Cate added: ‘The only frustration for me about inaction on climate change is that there are so many extraordinary initiatives right there ready to be scaled up.
‘There’s a willingness there, but there’s just not the direction of the funds.’
Charles said in response: ‘And there’s a lack of awareness too, as you were saying about the actual detail of all these things.’
Charles was also shown various plants, seeds and conservation test kits by Dr Elinor, who spoke with the monarch about the project’s future potential.
In 2000, the then-Prince of Wales opened the Millennium Seed Bank and has since taken an active interest in its progress. He last visited the seed bank in 2019.
Meanwhile, Cate is a Council Member for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which she previously described as ‘a real injection of energised hope’.
Her recording with King Charles marks her second engagement with royalty this year – as, in January, Cate met with William to to visit Colorifix, a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist, in Norfolk.
The discussion took place in the private gardens of Windsor Castle in July, and the trio discussed the seed bank’s origins and achievements
The King lamented that while he believed the seed bank’s work was ‘wonderful’, there was a need to ‘speed up the process’
His Majesty praised the work of the seed bank, which was founded in 2000 and now holds nearly 2.5 billion seeds from more than 40,000 species
The pair visited four different laboratories that each illustrated a step in Colorifix’s process of making environmentally-friendly fabric dye.
In an impromptu speech to Colorifix’s staff at the end, William praised their work and the ability of the start-up to scale since being named as an Earthshot finalist in 2023.
‘I know it’s taken us a bit of time to get here, but you’re doing really well’ he said, adding: ‘Best of luck, it’s going really well and it’s really exciting. I know you’re going to be pushing the industry very quickly so well done.’
Meanwhile, King Charles’s podcast comes after it was announced that the King will appear in a forthcoming ITV documentary with adventurer Steve Backshall.
Viewers will see the King speaking to Steve as the latter retraces the Royal’s steps from his 1975 trip to the Canadian Arctic in the 90-minute documentary, which will be shown as part of the channel’s Christmas schedule.
The monarch is set to discuss the ‘devastating effects’ of climate change during his appearance in the programme, which is titled Steve Backshall’s Royal Arctic Challenge.
Steve’s journey comes exactly 50 years after the King’s expedition, which helped shape Charles’s passion for protecting the environment and his belief in the importance of living in harmony with nature.
Charles travelled to the Canadian Arctic when he was aged just 26 and still the Prince of Wales. While there, he took part in dog sledging and diving under the Arctic ice with Canadian researchers.
In 2000, the then-Prince of Wales opened the Millennium Seed Bank and has since taken an active interest in its progress
Charles last paid a visit to the Millennium Seed Bank in 2019 and continues to keep abreast of the developments and conservation efforts being carried out there
The then-Prince also spent the trip learning about the local Inuit people’s culture and dependence on the environment around them – even trying raw seal liver when it was offered to him.
The King has consistently championed environmental awareness for decades, and still supports a number of causes today.
Earlier this month, the King and Prince of Wales appeared at a rare joint public engagement, brought together by their shared passion for the environment.
The monarch and his son, Prince William, visited the Natural History Museum in London for ‘Countdown to COP30’, which brings together organisations and individuals tackling the global environmental crisis and nature loss issues ahead of the United Nations’ annual climate change summit in Brazil in November.
The museum also showcased a film titled ‘The Speeches: 50 Years of Speaking Up for the Planet’ that looked back at the King’s legacy on the issue.
