62 LISTENER MAY 26 2018
That’sEntertainm
GETTY IMAGESI
t appears that Prince
Charles isn’t the only
tree-hugger in the British
royal family. According
to Sir David Attenborough
in the documentary The
Queen’s Green Planet (Prime,
Wednesday, 7.30pm), “It’s a
little-known fact that Her
Majesty loves trees.”
Well, who doesn’t. However,
she is now taking that love “to
a whole new level”, with the
establishment of the Queen’s
Commonwealth Canopy, an
initiative to establish protected
forests in every one of the 53
Commonwealth countries.
Given the levels of deforesta-
tion around the globe, and the
resultant loss of species habitat
and danger to human life, it’s
not a bad idea. Her Majesty
even suggests that “if all the
countries continue to plant,
it might change the climate
again.”
The idea originated with
British Labour MP Frank
Field, who struggled to raise
any interest from successive
governments, but found an
enthusiastic supporter in the
Queen, which seems to have
been the trigger to get the cur-
rent Government on board.
At a ceremony celebrat-
ing those countries that have
signed up, Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson waxes lyrical
about trees being “vital for
our happiness and our sanity”
before adding that, “I, in an
almost Teutonic way, rejoice
when I get into a glade or a
bosky nook of one kind or
another. I won’t say that,
in a Teutonic way, I disrobe
in order to commune with
the forest, but I think it’s an
important part of our mental
well-being.” Goodness. ThankOne calls a spade a spade
The Queen wants the Commonwealth
covered in trees and is sending the
grandchildren to see to it. by entertainment editor FIONA RAE
TV • TV REVIEW • RADIO • TV & RADIO LISTINGS