WASHINGTON, Mar 19: Prince Charles made an impassioned speech in Washington about the deteriorating state of the world’s oceans, striking a somber note on the first full day of his US tour with wife Camilla.
A vociferous environmental campaigner, the Prince of Wales told government, corporate and non-profit leaders at a hotel in the US capital yesterday: “One issue that we absolutely cannot ignore is that of the increasing quantity of plastic waste in the marine environment.
“I was horrified to learn that, according to recent research, we collectively allow as much as eight million tonnes of plastic to enter the oceans every year.”
The prince said he was “haunted by the tragic images of seabirds, particularly albatrosses, that have been found dead, washed up on beaches after mistaking a piece of plastic for a meal.”
Earlier, in lighter scenes, the royal couple mingled with gobsmacked young Americans as they hit some of Washington’s top tourist attractions.
Bright sunlight but chilly temperatures prevailed as they inspected the Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King monument.
Later they ventured out to Mount Vernon to look around George Washington’s patrician home, which commands a grand view over the lower Potomac.
Prince Charles, 66, also took time to inspect the National Archives’ copy of the Magna Carta, signed eight centuries ago this year by his predecessor, England’s King John.
They will drop in on President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office today, part of a whirlwind tour intended to promote the US-British partnership in such areas as climate change, opportunity for youth and responsibility in world affairs.
It is the 20th official visit to the United States for Charles, who is assuming more and more of the duties once undertaken by his elderly mother. (AGENCIES)
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