Prince Charles speaks out amid ‘immense crisis’ as he ‘prays’ for action—‘we are literally poisoning ourselves’

Prince Charles will speak out in a pre-recorded message for a major conference as he advocates for ‘transformative action’...

Prince Charles speaks out, seen here meeting Cambridge Trust students who are recipients of the HRH Prince of Wales Commonwealth Scholarships
(Image credit: Photo by Justin Tallias-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Charles will speak out amid an “immense crisis” as he reveals he “prays” for fast action during a pre-recorded speech for the Our Ocean Conference.  


For many decades now the Prince of Wales, who is first in the royal line of succession, has passionately advocated for conservation and discussed the horrifying impact of the growing climate crisis. Last year Prince Charles branded “obscure” environmental language unhelpful as he called for change to the agricultural industry. Whilst during the pandemic in 2020, he opened the Climate Change Festival where Prince Charles revealed we have the power to drive change.

Now the future King will speak at another hugely important environmental conference as he “prays” for urgent and committed action to help save the world’s oceans. 

According to the Evening Standard, the Prince of Wales’ pre-recorded message is set to be played on April 13th at the 7th Our Ocean Conference. This is being hosted by the United States and the Republic of Palau and will feature many equally high profile speakers, including former US President Barack Obama.

The eldest of the Queen’s children also contributed by way of his passionate speech urging practical action. He suggests sustainable fishing practices, reimagining tourism in coastal areas and supporting innovators in helping to speed up removing plastic from the oceans. 

“Despite the essential role the ocean plays in maintaining harmony between nature, people and planet, human activity over the past several centuries has contributed to the rapid decline in ocean health, be it from global warming, unsustainable, unreported, unregulated and illegal fishing practices or pollution,” he reportedly explains. 

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attends the memorial service for the Duke Of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey

(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)

Commenting on the issue of pollution still further during his message, Prince Charles presents the terrifying suggestion that we are “literally poisoning” our bodies.

He declares, “We have seen unequivocal evidence that plastics are not only polluting our waters but are entering our food chains and our bodies. We are quite literally poisoning ourselves.”

“It seems obvious that we should be looking for natural alternatives to plastic and transitioning rapidly to these alternatives,” Prince of Wales adds. “In the meantime, we need to support the world’s innovators to scale up the removal of plastics from our ocean, waterways and landfills while strengthening recycling efforts and the more rapid development of the circular economy.”

As his speech for the Our Ocean Conference draws to its conclusion, Prince Charles is set to powerfully reflect upon the “immense crisis” and “concerted attention” needed to help combat the adverse effect humans have had upon our oceans. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Ocean’s centrality on this planet as the largest reservoir of biodiversity and life demands our concerted attention and transformative action,” he declares. “I pray, therefore, that in response to the immense crisis we face, this summit can lead to a genuine global alliance between the private, public and NGO sectors.”

Emma Shacklock

Emma is a Royal Editor with eight years experience working in publishing. Her specialist areas include the British Royal Family, ranging from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the next unmissable show to add to your to-watch list or delving into royal protocol, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!