Prince Charles reveals he feels 'lucky' to have 'gotten away quite lightly' with coronavirus illness - and says he feels 'ghastly' about those who couldn't be with dying loved-ones
- Prince Charles, 71, has spoken about experience with COVID19 in new interview
- Revealed coronavirus battle has made him feel 'more determined' with causes
- Said he feels 'ghastly' for those who couldn't be with loved-ones as they died
Prince Charles has revealed he feels 'ghastly' for those who couldn't be with their loved-ones as they died of coronavirus.
The Prince of Wales, 71, has opened up about his brush with COVID19 in a new interview with Sky News for their series After The Pandemic: Our New World, which will air tomorrow night.
Speaking from his Aberdeenshire home of Birkhall, he told royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills: 'I was lucky in my case and got away with it quite lightly. But I've had it, and I can so understand what other people have gone through.'
Prince Charles added: 'I feel particularly for those who have lost their loved ones and have been unable to be with them at the time. That to me is the most ghastly thing.'
The Prince of Wales, 71, revealed in a video call with royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills that he feels 'lucky' that he 'got away quite lightly with coronavirus' , after falling ill with the disease in March
The royal opened up about his brush with the disease in an interview with Rhiannon Mills, which is set to air tomorrow night on Sky
Prince Charles, who has spent lockdown at his Aberdeenshire home of Birkhall with Camilla, 72, said he felt 'ghastly' for those who couldn't be with loved-ones as they died from the disease
He added: 'But in order to prevent this happening to so many more people, I'm so determined to find a way out of this.'
Prince Charles was diagnosed as having Covid-19 following a test on the NHS in Aberdeenshire in March of this year.
Fortunately, he only suffered what were described as 'mild' symptoms and carried on working throughout.
Royal sources said the prince was in 'good health' throughout his illness and his self-isolation lasted seven days 'in accordance with government and medical guidelines'.
Despite the mild nature of his brush with the virus, Prince Charles revealed that it has helped him empathise with others throughout the pandemic.
He explained: 'I can't tell you how much I sympathise with the way that everyone has had to endure with this unbelievably testing and challenging time.
'I know that so many people have had the agony of losing their loved ones and the bewilderment and anxiety that surrounds everything.
'It is the most awful aspect of a pandemic like this, and yet we've seen at the same time people being quite remarkable and wonderful people in the national health service and all the other key workers who kept everything going.'
The royal said he felt he could 'sympathise' with the way people have had to 'endure this unbelievably testing and challenging time'
The royal said his brush with the disease gave him an understanding to what others around the country had gone through
Prince Charles went on to explain that the crisis could offer a moment of opportunity for the environment.
He explained: 'People have begun to realise that we have to put nature back at the centre of everything we do and put it at the centre of our economy.
'Before this nature has just been pushed to the peripheries, we've exploited and dug up and cut down everything as if there was no tomorrow, as if it doesn't matter.'
The Prince of Wales went on to say that without learning from this pandemic, there may be more to come from in the future, commenting: 'The more we erode the natural world, the more we destroy biodiversity, the more we expose ourselves to this kind of danger.
It comes as the Prince of Wales launched the Great Reset Project as he urged businesses to seize the 'golden opportunity' of the coronavirus pandemic to rebuild in a sustainable and green way
'We've had these other disasters with SARS and EBOLA and goodness knows what else, all of these things are related to the loss of biodiversity.
'So, we have to find a way this time to put nature back at the centre.
'We should have been treating the planet as if it was a patient long ago. No self-respecting doctor would ever have let the situation, if the planet is a patient, reach this stage before making an intervention.
'It's only catastrophes which concentrate the mind, which means, that for once, there might be some real impetus to tackle all these things that have been pushed to one side because everyone said, 'oh it's irrelevant'. But these are crucial things.'
The royal has encouraged industries to relaunch in a sustainable way and 'reset' in a voiceover for a short film which accompanied the launch of the project
Speaking about his experience with the disease, he said it had reinforced his belief in the causes he champions, saying: 'It makes me even more determined to push and shout and prod.'
It comes as the Prince of Wales urged businesses to seize the 'golden opportunity' of the coronavirus pandemic to rebuild in a sustainable and green way as he launched The Great Reset Project.
Prince Charles unveiled the initiative today, which is designed to ensure businesses 'build back better' as they begin to recover from the crisis.
The prince, who has been championing environmental causes for decades, stressed the need not to miss the chance for a green recovery and a more sustainable future, urging people to 'think big and act now'.
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