Princes Charles has become a patron of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
The 67-year-old royal is "delighted" to be an official supporter of the gardens in south-west London and is "proud" of its history spanning over 25 decades.
He said: "I have always had the greatest affection and admiration for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, so I could not be more proud and delighted to have been invited to become Patron of this great institution. Kew has had its roots planted deeply in British soil for more than 250 years, but has developed an international reputation as one of the world’s greatest botanic gardens, renowned for its scientific research and plant collections."
And Kew director, Richard Deverell commented: "It is a truly great honour to welcome The Prince as our Patron and we look forward to sharing our many exciting plans for a future in which Kew plays a very central role in the conservation and sustainability of our precious planet."
Charles – who has long been passionate about the impact of climate change and global warming – hopes that the new Great Broad Walk Borders will help to stress the importance to protect the "unique plants" of the world from extinction.
He added: "The new Great Broad Walk Borders are a great way to celebrate the diversity of the plant kingdom in all its astonishing richness – particularly at a time when, as scientists at Kew have recently stressed, so many of the world’s unique plants are under constant threat of extinction. I very much hope that the new borders will attract even more visitors and encourage them to learn about Kew’s exciting role at the heart of global efforts to unlock why plants matter."
Prince Charles becomes patron of Royal Botanic Gardens
