Stately Sustainability: Which Royals are Going Green?

Sarah Grey

4 years ago

Sustainability has never been so urgent. Brands, celebrities, and the general public are all beginning to turn towards sustainable options, championing everything from eco-friendly fashion to conscious travel brands. The royal family is no exception to this movement, and many of Britain’s royals have been seen to make big steps towards a greener way of living.

From nifty electric cars to eco-activism and sustainable wardrobes, let’s find out which of our royals are paving the way and think about how we can emulate their efforts in our own lives.

The Duchess of Cambridge

Kate Middleton is famed for always looking classy and fashionable. In the words of one Guardian fashion editor, “her clothes show respect, bring an emotional warmth that strengthens historic and strategic bonds, and send a positive message about the country and family she represents.” Ever since marrying into the royal family, she has presented herself with true grace, and now she is using her coveted wardrobe to champion sustainable fashion brands.

Kate’s high-end designer choices always favour the sustainable, and she is often seeing looking fabulous in Alexander McQueen and Temperley London garments. However, she has also been seen wearing lesser-known sustainable brands such as Faithful and Beulah. The latter of the two is a brand that sets out to fight modern slavery and empower vulnerable women.

Not only does Kate Middleton use her influence to champion sustainable brands, but she also doesn’t shy away from revisiting her wardrobe and re-wearing garments that she has already been seen in. This may seem normal to most of us, but for a royal, outfit repeating is a powerful statement!

Considering the fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter after the oil industry, boosting the popularity of sustainable fashion could not be more important. The Duchess of Cambridge’s choices encourage the rest of us to choose investment pieces over fast fashion, whether that be reducing our waste by investing in a luxury umbrella, re-styling an old dress rather than buying one new, or shopping at pioneering sustainable brands.

The Prince of Wales

Over the years, Prince Charles has regularly been involved with community initiatives and scientific bodies as well as developing his own sustainability projects. Each of his projects has focussed on remedying environmental damage and finding sustainable ways to save the planet’s natural resources. His projects include the Prince’s Rainforest Project, Accounting for Sustainability, the International Sustainability Unit, and Project Start. On top of this, Prince Charles has been involved with planning homes in communities with an environmental focus, while updating his own homes and cars to make sure that they are more eco-friendly (such as the solar panels installed in Clarence House)

Prince Charles was also the first member of the royal family to opt for an electric car, a Jaguar I-PACE to be precise. Not only did this purchase make his journeys much greener, but it set a precedent both for the general public and the other royals. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex soon followed his lead in 2019!

Queen Elizabeth II

Each member of the royal family seems to have chosen their own area of sustainability to champion. For Queen Elizabeth, that area is forests. After the launch of the Queens Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) in 2015, all 53 countries in the Commonwealth family have united together in a pledge to help save some of the planet’s most precious natural habitats.

The result was the launch of a network of forest conservation projects, helping to conserve indigenous forests for generations to come. The QCC prioritises five key objectives:

To raise awareness of the value of indigenous forests
To create a chain of forest conservation projects that unite commonwealth countries
To demonstrate the Commonwealth’s capacity to promote change in our forests
To facilitate knowledge about what the best strategy is to achieve forest conservation
To create a lasting legacy of the Queen’s leadership of the Commonwealth

In recent news, it was announced that Bermuda has now joined the QCC. As of March 2020, Bermuda chose to contribute towards the incredible biodiversity that the Walsingham Nature Reserve QCC project strives to accomplish.

From involvement in charities to eco-tourism, it’s clear that sustainability is more important to the royal family than ever before. With more and more high-profile, influential people putting the wellbeing of our planet at the top of their priorities, the future looks brighter and far more sustainable!