COUNTRYFILE ISSUES
John Craven
WILL KING CHARLES III CHAMPION THE COUNTRYSIDE?
On the night of the Queen’s death, I was presenting an award at a heartwarming ceremony in London to honour some remarkable animals, mainly dogs. The solemn news spread quickly and I wondered whether the event might be cancelled.
Within minutes, we heard that it would go ahead in a respectful fashion. The Queen had been patron of the Dogs Trust, one of the organisers, and, as if in tribute, the many dogs in the room behaved impeccably.
But looking round, it suddenly struck me that I was one of the few people there who, as a child, had sung ‘God Save the King’. On a February afternoon in 1952, the headmaster had called us together to solemnly announce the King had died and a lovely young lady was now our Queen.
Now, 70 years later, we have a King again and although there will be changes, one reassuring constant is the knowledge that the monarch, like his mother, is very much at home in the British countryside. There are differences, of course – he prefers terriers to corgis and, unlike the late Queen, who never let anyone know her opinions, her eldest son never held back.
During his long apprenticeship, he was an ardent and often outspoken supporter of rural ways. He first highlighted environmental issues in the 1970s, drawing attention to the “horrifying effects of pollution”, and he has been a staunch supporter of sustainability and organic farming while opposing the genetic modification of crops. He raised concerns over climate change years before other world leaders did and his views on everything, from modern architecture to alternative medicine, have often attracted criticism. “Because I suggested there were better ways of doing things in the nicest possible way, and in a more balanced and integrated way, I was accused of interfering and meddling,” he once told the BBC.
“As Prince of Wales, Charles promoted our countryside ”
PROTECTOR OF TRADITION
His concept of how new towns should look in the countryside, with social and private housing blended, led to the creation of Poundbury on Duchy land in Dorset. Despite its opponents, the project now has a thriving community of 4,000-plus.
His concern for the quality of rural life spread overseas. I have visited a medieval village in the Transylvania region of Romania, where he owns a home. Under Ceaușescu’s regime in the 1980s, thousands of such villages, where horses and carts were commonplace, faced destruction because they were deemed bad for the national image. Prince Charles intervened in a speech, the villages were saved and he later moved in a show of support.
The big question now is: will King Charles III have to bite his tongue? As Prince of Wales, he promoted our countryside and its traditions – on Countryfile, we have seen him in his element laying hedges at Highgrove in a tattered old jacket. But will his passionate advocacy cease?
Under our unwritten constitution, the monarchy is above politics. Some years ago, when asked if he would campaign when King, he retorted: “No, I won’t. I’m not that stupid.”
In his speech to the nation as King, he said: “It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
Some Royal ‘watchers’ wonder whether our farmer King will be able to resist speaking his mind to those in positions of political and economic power. We’ll see.
Watch John on Countryfile, Sunday evenings on BBC One.