Buckingham Palace have announced that King Charles III is to feature in a new Amazon documentary, signalling a break in tradition for the Royals who would as a rule work with the large UK broadcasters for any major on-screen presentations.

In the new production for Amazon Prime – which has already begun – His Majesty is expected to highlight his environmental charity work, focusing on his concerns about the future of the planet, whilst showcasing his “philosophy of harmony” aimed at building sustainable communities.

Although no title has yet been made public for the documentary – which is expected to be released towards the end of the year or beginning of next – its ideals are believed to mirror those presented by the then Prince Charles in his 2010 book “Harmony: A New Way of Looking At Our World”.

A number of other streaming platforms were considered before Amazon were chosen and it may be a coincidence, but they are of course the big rival of Netflix.

Netflix it will be remembered, have a much publicised multi-million pound deal with the King’s youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle, who have stirred up controversy against the rest of the Royal Family with several of their past productions.

Relentless on climate change

 In his role as the King, Charles is subject to different rules, one of which dictates that the monarch is obliged to remain politically neutral.

Nevertheless, that has not stopped him from voicing his opinion on certain topics, in particular climate change and the action necessary to halt its influence.

It was in December 2023 that he warned the COP28 climate summit in Dubai that “our survivability will be imperilled” unless humans restore the balance with the natural world.

Book told of much of what was coming

His Majesty has spent decades campaigning and convening meetings to drive action on environmental issues.

He has long been a champion of nature and green causes, and explored the themes in the above mentioned book which he co-authored with Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, and amongst many other innovative visions covered in the publication, he called for a shift in how everyone interacts with nature.

“Call to revolution”

At the time of the book’s release Prince Charles – as he was back then – said it was a “call to revolution” adding that he was “absolutely determined to be the defender of nature – full stop. That is what the rest of my life is going to be concerned with.”

His opening gambit in the now 15-year-old production, made it clear he saw that the Earth was under threat, saying: “It cannot cope with all that we demand of it; it is losing its balance and we humans are causing this to happen.”

Environmentalist and visionary

So many of his concerns have intensified in the period since the book’s release, so much so that he is viewed by many as not just an environmentalist, but a genuine visionary.

Additionally, given the recent revelations from the new US administration that their plan is to undo much of the great work carried out in recent years as part of the climate crisis battle, he probably believes that getting this documentary out to the masses as being more important now than ever before. 

Huge opportunity

It is understood that Charles genuinely sees this as an opportunity to “show, not tell” people just how they can transform other individual mindsets and ultimately save the planet before it is too late.

More than any other documentary he has created previously, his aim seems to be to tell the world what he is all about, what he stands for and for it to be delivered with a frankness that will hopefully not just make people sit up and take notice, but to actually take positive action.

New audience

A Buckingham Palace source said: “It is astonishing really what has been put into practice since publication of the original book, 15 years ago, and how many of those pioneering ideas have been adopted in different ways.”

They said that the King is “greatly looking forward” to seeing how the concepts of his original book can now be communicated to new audiences. The source added: “I think many will be genuinely amazed at the scale, scope and vision of it all, for which Dumfries House in Scotland (which is where the filming for the documentary is taking place) continues to be the ‘living laboratory’ for it.”

The production is expected to drop on Amazon Prime by the end of 2025, or very early 2026.