King Charles has praised the work of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank during a recent podcast recording with actress Cate Blanchett.
During the recording, which was the King’s second-ever, he said the initiative at Kew’s wild botanic garden Wakehurst in Sussex, is “wonderful”, but the process needs to be sped up.
The discussion with Blanchett – Kew Gardens’ ambassador for Wakehurst – and Kew seed scientist Dr Elinor Breman, took place in the private gardens of Windsor Castle on a sunny July afternoon, 25 years after the Millennium Seed Bank opened.
Since its launch in 2000, nearly 2.5 billion seeds from more than 40,000 species have been carefully cleaned, dried and stored in walk-in freezers at minus 20C in Wakehurst.
Charles, who said he was “very proud” to be a patron of Kew, said on the podcast: “I think it’s wonderful what the seed bank is doing, but we’ve got to speed up the process.”
During the conversation, Blanchett said: “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 replied: “And there’s that lack of awareness too, as you were saying, about the actual detail of all these things.”
The trio discussed the seed bank and its origins, its achievements in the past 25 years, as well as ongoing work around the world today, including in Australia and South Africa.
Dr Breman brought plants, seeds and conservation test kits to show Charles and they spoke about the future potential for the project.
Charles opened the Millennium Seed Bank in 2000 and has taken an active interest in its progress since, returning to visit in 2019.
The podcast episode, which launches Kew’s fourth Unearthed series, is released on October 20 and will be followed by a three-part series looking at the past, present and future of the Millennium Seed Bank.
The King became a one-off disc jockey in March after he was left “surprised and delighted” to be asked by Apple Music to showcase 17 of his favourite songs by artists including Jools Holland, Michael Buble and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to mark Commonwealth Day.
