Prince Charles has praised the strength of society in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Prince Charles
The Prince of Wales has admired the "resourcefulness, compassion and stoical determination" of people over the last year as they cope with so much uncertainty due to the global health crisis.
Marking his upcoming 72nd birthday with his annual leader for Country Life magazine, he wrote: "The country, and the world, have experienced changes we could never have foreseen.
"Uncertainty has become a steady state; the previously unimaginable has become unexceptional; the extraordinary has become normal.
"At such a time, it is tempting, and understandable, to focus on the losses, the failures and the challenges. However, if the life of the land teaches anything, it is the need to look at the long term."
He went on to praise "the strength of our society: its resourcefulness, its compassion and its stoical determination" and how they can be engaged to tackle "other deeply troubling problems" in the world, such as global warming, climate change and the heartbreaking loss of biodiversity."
And Charles warned there is a "short window of opportunity" to "rebuild" the planet for future generations, after praising new initiatives and technological advancements such as wool insulation for houses and the National Garden Scheme, which raised money with online videos.
He wrote: "Like the threatened red squirrels collecting their hazelnuts or jays their seeds and acorns, we must be wise and far-sighted.
"We have a very short window of opportunity, which must not be squandered, in which to seize something good from this crisis and, as we rebuild, to put Nature, our planet and our children and grandchildren first."
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