King joins Cate Blanchett for podcast about ‘wonderful’ Millennium Seed Bank

The King has hailed the work of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank on a podcast episode 25 years after it opened with the aim of combatting climate change and biodiversity loss.

Sitting down to record a podcast with actress Cate Blanchett, Charles said the Millennium Seed Bank, at Kew’s wild botanic garden Wakehurst in Sussex, is “wonderful”, but says the process needs to be sped up.

The King’s chat 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.

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’s 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.”

In what is the King’s second-ever podcast recording, 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.