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Could it be that, like many baby boomers, Kim charles iii Feel misunderstood?
This may sound like an odd question for someone who has his own PR team and easy access to any reporter in the field. But 16 years after he wrote a book explaining his vision to save the planet, King and Amazon Prime Make a film that illustrates this philosophy.
The documentary delves into Charles’ concept of “harmony,” the idea that restoring balance between humans and the natural world is critical to combating global warming and many other major issues facing humanity.
Along the way, the king also faced critics, who derided him as a dilettante who jumped aimlessly from one career to the next with no rhyme or reason. Charles believes that climate change, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, traditional crafts and promoting understanding between religions – causes to which he has devoted much of his adult life – are interconnected issues that must be addressed to create more liveable communities.
“I think if we’re going to make sure that this planet can support so many people, we need to follow harmony. It’s unlikely to be like that anywhere else,” he says in the film’s trailer.
Nature’s “cycles and cycles”
To help explain the ideas, experts including Tony Juniper, former director of Friends of the Earth England and Wales Northern Irelandand University of Cambridge climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh appear with Charles in “Searching for Harmony: The Vision of a King,” which will be available on Amazon on February 6. The narrator is Kate Winslet.
Juniper told The Associated Press that the king wants people to realize that humans are as much a part of the natural world as birds and trees, something that can be obscured in our rush to work in air-conditioned offices and then drive to the supermarket to buy food wrapped in plastic.
Juniper said nature’s “cycles and cycles” still dominate human society, and it’s critical to re-appreciate this as we face global warming, soil erosion, ocean plastics and chemicals accumulating in the food chain.
“All of this is reversible, all of this is repairable,” he said. “But this requires more of us to understand that we are not outside of nature, but within it.”
Juniper believes Charles is uniquely qualified to deliver this message because he has campaigned on these issues for decades and continues to do so even as other world leaders shy away from environmental protection.
“If there is one person in the world who is truly a globally recognized figure with an incredible record of authenticity on these subjects, it is King Charles III,” Juniper said.
Turn over a page
Charles set out the idea of restoring balance to the natural world in his 2010 book Harmony: A New Way of Seeing Our World, co-written with Juniper and former BBC presenter Ian Skelly.
So why come back to the topic now?
Part of the reason may be a desire to reach new audiences through streaming services with global reach. prince williamCharles’ heir ventured into the same territory last year when he revealed his plans for the monarchy on comedian Eugene Levy’s Apple TV show “The Reluctant Traveler.”
But After Elizabeth: Can the monarchy save itself? The king also wants to shift the focus back to an issue he hopes will define his legacy, two years after the media and public were distracted by other things, said Ed Owens, author of the book “The King.”
The first was Charles’ cancer diagnosis, which forced him to miss several months of public service in early 2024 and raised lingering questions about his health. Then there’s his ongoing tension with younger son Prince Harry, and the scandal surrounding his brother Andrew’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
With Charles clearly over the worst of his cancer treatment and Andrew stripped of his title, it may be time to turn the page.
“Let us have no doubt that this is a very thoughtful attempt to reinvent the monarchy after a few very difficult years,” Owens said.
Even so, the king cannot be blamed for only recently starting to discuss these issues.
Charles gave his first speech on the environment in February 1970, when he was just 21 and still a student at Cambridge University.
In 1990 he founded Dumfries House, the King’s Fund’s flagship project, which promotes sustainable farming, traditional arts and crafts, health and wellbeing.
The house and surrounding 2,000-acre estate in southwest Scotland serve as a laboratory for the philosophy of harmony, offering courses designed to teach the principles of nature while preparing students to work on farms, hotels and restaurants, and on construction sites.
Carving a new future
One of the participants on the course at Dumfries House is Jennie Regan, 45, who is training to be a stonemason after working as a college administrator for 15 years.
On a recent afternoon, Regan stood proudly behind a carving she created that reads “Have I not guided you well?” — a nod to the story of the benevolent Scottish fairy Ghillie Dhu who led a lost child to safety.
The carving, which will adorn the floor of Wildlife Fur, a hidden woodland sanctuary for observing nature, is an example of what drew her to the stonemason: being able to combine her love of nature with the goal of making something that will last for years to come.
“Things have to be sustainable,” Regan said. “There’s a lot of waste on construction sites.”
Schuckberg, who collaborated with King on a children’s book about climate change, said the documentary offers a hopeful vision for solving the challenges facing the world.
“It feels like we’re going through difficult times,” said Schackberg, director of Project Zero, which tackles the climate crisis at the University of Cambridge. “It’s really important to have something that provides a sense of hope and optimism.”