Prince Charles believes he was fortunate that he had an easier coronavirus journey.
“I was lucky, in my case, and got away with it quite lightly. I’ve had it and can still understand what other people are going through,” Charles, 71, explained in a Sky News interview that aired on Thursday, June 4. “I feel particularly for those, for instance, who’ve lost their loved ones but were unable to be with them at the time. That’s, to me, the most ghastly thing. But in order to prevent this from happening to so many more people, this is why I’m determined to find a way out of this.”
The Prince of Wales noted that society could experience more pandemics similar to the COVID-19 crisis if humanity fails to protect Earth, adding: “We should have been treating the planet as if it were 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.”
He also explained that “the more we erode the natural world, the more we destroy what’s called biodiversity, which is the immense diversity of life, plant life, tree life, everything else.”
Charles tested positive for COVID-19 in late March. He had been “displaying mild symptoms,” but had ultimately remained “in good health” as he continued to work from home. His wife, Duchess Camilla, received a negative result back on her coronavirus test.
Charles had called sons Prince William and Prince Harry to inform them of the news. Harry, 35, was “overwhelmed with feelings of guilt for not being closer to home” at the time, a source previously told Us Weekly. (Harry and wife Meghan Markle had already relocated to L.A. with son Archie at the time.)
The heir to the British throne revealed that he overcame his battle with the illness one week later. “Having recently gone through the process of contracting this coronavirus — luckily with relatively mild symptoms — I now find myself on the other side of the illness but still in no less a state of social distance and general isolation,” he said at the time.
A Clarence House spokesperson told Us that Charles was also out of self-isolation after consulting with his doctor.
To aid in fighting the disease, Charles helped to virtually open a coronavirus field hospital in London. “It’s a spectacular and almost unbelievable feat of work,” he said in the April video. “An example, if ever one was needed, of how the impossible can be made possible.”
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