Prince of Wales praises Sir Ranulph Fiennes in new documentary

The Prince of Wales has praised his friend Sir Ranulph Fiennes in a new feature documentary about the life and work of the British explorer.

In a clip from EXPLORER, Charles shares his admiration for 78-year-old Sir Ranulph, whose achievements include being the first person to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole by only surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot.

Speaking about his long-time friend in the newly released documentary, Charles says: “He wants to do the things that haven’t been done by other people, to achieve what others haven’t.”

As a montage of Sir Ranulph in various extreme situations plays, Charles continues: “If you had too much imagination you’d never do these things I don’t think.”

The clip also shows old footage of the prince talking about his friend at the time of some of his greatest explorations.

In the snippet for the documentary, which also features adventurer Bear Grylls and explorer Anton Bowring, Charles continues to speak admiringly of his friend.

“He had this absolute drive and determination,” he says before jokingly adding: “Most of the time I thought I’d never see him again.”

Sir Ranulph also climbed to the summit of Mount Everest in 2009 at the age of 65, making him the oldest British person to do so at the time.

He has written a number of books about his experiences, including the eight years he spent in the British Army, as well as about explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

Using Sir Ranulph’s extensive film archive, preserved and cared for by the British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive, the documentary gives viewers an insight into decades of expeditions, with contributions from a selection of Sir Ranulph’s life-long friends and colleagues.

EXPLORER, a Good Productions film in association with the BFI and Universal Pictures Content Group, is now available in the UK on demand on a variety of platforms, having previously been screened in select cinemas.