Prince Charles on Grandchildren: Won't Leave Behind 'Poisoned Chalice'
Prince Charles has addressed his concerns over the environment while citing his future descendants as a reason.
With his eldest son, Prince William, expecting a child with Kate Middleton later this year, Prince Charles vowed to not leave his grandchild behind with a "poisoned chalice."
The ever-environmentally conscious 64-year-old royal appeared on ITV's "This Morning" show on Monday explaining his stance.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I've gone on for years about the importance of thinking about the long term in relation to environmental damage, climate change, and everything else," said Prince Charles during the interview.
"We don't, in a sensible world, want to hand on an increasingly dysfunctional world to our grandchildren, to leave them with the real problem," he added.
Furthermore, Charles noted his responsibility to his future descendants.
"And I don't want to be confronted by my future grandchild, saying: 'Why didn't you do something,'" said the prince. "So clearly now that we will have a grandchild, it makes it even more obvious to try and make sure we… leave them something that isn't a totally poisoned chalice."
The British royal also discussed his concerns as a father while his youngest son, Prince Harry, serves the British Army as an attack helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.
"If you are a parent or relation to a loved on and that person is away in incredible dangerous and challenging circumstances, I know you worry all the time," said the first in line to the throne during the televised interview.
"Certainly every night I worry," he continued. "But he [Harry] loves that he is going and he's brilliant at it."
Prince Harry has been targeted by the Taliban, who have said they would do all they could to kill or kidnap him. Harry was present but unharmed when Taliban insurgents attacked a military base in Helmand in September. The attack killed two U.S. Marines.
Britain plans to withdraw nearly all its 9,000 soldiers from Afghanistan when the NATO mission is completed in late 2014.
Harry's older brother, William, is a helicopter pilot for the Royal Air Force. Prince William also addressed the dangers of the job, but explained that his duties are important to him.
"It's great because you get to go out and save someone's life- hopefully- or at least make a difference to someone when you know they're in trouble," said William during an interview in 2011, according to BBC.
"It's rewarding because every day you come into work and you don't know what's going to happen," he continued. "It's quite exciting. It's unpredictable."
