To mark the launch of its new YouTube channel, sustainable solutions channel RE:TV has produced a short film – The King’s Speech – in which a cast of 19 actors and environmentalists revisit lines from some of the inspiring speeches the King made as Prince of Wales. Actors include Idris Elba, Glenn Close, Olivia Colman and Woody Harrelson, while environmentalists include BBC gardening presenter Danny Clarke, YouTube environmental campaigner Jack Harries, and climate activist Leah Thomas.
The film begins with a stark warning of the ecological crisis we are facing, but a warmer, more optimistic tone emerges as the film develops – both through the message conveyed by the King’s words, the original score that accompanies it, and the stock and archive imagery that threads it together.
Filmed across distinctive locations, from the iconic glasshouses of Kew Gardens to the ancient woodland of Burnham Beeches, which contrast from the backdrop for the King’s closing lines delivered for the original RE:TV launch film in 2020; “There is real hope, but we’ve just got to get our act together”.
The film has been produced by Atomized Studios. It has been executive produced by Zad Rodgers and Dan Watt-Smith, directed by Anatole Sloan, produced by Zoe Evans and the production manager was Alana O’Neill. Music was composed by Nathan Klein and recorded live at Air Edel Studios London.
His Majesty The King has been speaking up for the planet for over fifty years. Since he first highlighted conservation issues in February 1970, he has made dozens of speeches raising awareness of environmental problems from plastic pollution to global warming.
In 2020, as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, he founded RE:TV to showcase sustainable solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. RE:TV has since made over 100 short films about innovative projects around the world, generating more than 10 million views across its website and social channels and through partnerships with the likes of Bloomberg and Waterbear.
Full Cast List:
Idris Elba, actor
Olivia Colman, actor
Glenn Close, actor
Woody Harrelson, actor
Charlie Mackesey, author
Danny Clarke, garden designer and TV presenter
Tayshan Hayden Smith, garden designer and TV presenter
Jack Harries, documentary film-maker and environmental activist
Melissa Helmsley, cookery writer, chef and sustainability champion
Leah Thomas, environmental activist
Fatou Jeng, climate activist. Founder Clean Earth Gambia
Patrick Holden, Founder, Sustainable Food Trust
Janine Benyus, Founder, Biomimicry Institute
Thomas Crowther, Founder, Crowther Lab. Chair of the advisory board for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Richard Barley, Director of Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dr Moses K Langat, Rersearch Leader, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Solene Dequiret, student, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, co-founder and co-CEO, Notpla
Pierre Paslier, co-founder and co-CEO, NotplaSpeeches by the King as Prince of Wales – 1970 – 2020
February 1970 – A speech to the Countryside Steering Committee for Wales
November 1987 – North Sea Conference speech
March 1995 – The new environmental agenda speech
June 2002 – EuroNatur Award acceptance speech
October 2002 – A speech given to the Temenos Academy
December 2009 – The Copenhagen Climate Change Summit
November 2015 – COP21 Opening Session speech
September 2020 – The Time to Act is Now
Pippa Considine
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