His Majesty King Charles III has praised the work of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, urging that efforts to protect the planet's biodiversity must "speed up," in a special podcast episode with actress and Kew Ambassador Cate Blanchett.

The episode, released today (Monday, 20 October), launches the fourth season of Unearthed: The Need for Seeds, a Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew podcast marking the 25th anniversary of the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst, Sussex.

King Charles III (credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images for RBG Kew).

The MSB is the world's largest wild seed conservation project, safeguarding over 2.5 billion seeds from 40,000 plant species in partnership with 279 organisations across more than 100 countries.

In only his second-ever podcast appearance, His Majesty joined Blanchett and Dr Elinor Breman, senior research leader at Kew, to reflect on the origins, achievements and future of the MSB.

The King officially opened the facility in 2000 and revisited it in 2019.

HRH The Prince of Wales and Peter Crane opening the MSB in 2000 (credit: RBG Kew).

King Charles said: "I think it's wonderful what the seed bank is doing, but we've got to speed up the process. I'm very proud to be a patron of Kew. That's the great thing. It does wonderful work."

Cate Blanchett commented: "There is an urgency to the work that the seed bank does. I was shocked to learn that 97 per cent of wildflower meadows have been decimated.

"We look around and see beauty, but we forget how fragile it is. There are so many extraordinary initiatives ready to be scaled up — the willingness is there, but not always the funding."

Millennium Seed Bank (credit: Visual Air © RBG Kew).

Dr Elinor Breman also spoke about the resilience of nature, saying: "If we give her the chance, she will come back. People still take plants for granted without realising that the air we breathe wouldn't exist without them."

The new Unearthed series follows Blanchett as she joins Kew scientists and their global partners working to safeguard seeds for future generations.

(Left to right) Cate Blanchett, Elinor Breman, King Charles III (credti: Chris Jackson - Getty Images for RBG Kew).

Blanchett added: "Recording the podcast was an absolute joy. I witnessed the invaluable science undertaken by the dedicated team at Wakehurst and their partners worldwide.

"Seeds may be tiny, but they are of monumental importance to us all."

To listen to the podcast, visit Unearthed: The need for seeds.  

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