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Find Out Which English Icon Prince Charles Let Loose on the Grounds of Sandringham

The Prince Of Wales Visits The Welsh Guards
The Prince Of Wales Visits The Welsh Guards

Peter Cziborra - WPA Pool/Getty Prince Charles

Princes Charles had a Tuesday for the birds!

The eco-conscious future king spent his day at the royals' Sandringham estate in rural Norfolk, where he released 11 Eurasian curlews, a large wading bird that was described on the Clarence House Instagram as "one of the country's most iconic threatened species."

The photo carousel noted that the Prince of Wales, 73, "was joined by @NaturalEngland's Chair, Tony Juniper ... in a bid to boost populations in the East of England."

The caption deemed the threatened species "the highest conservation priority," saying its population decline over the past four decades demands "urgent action. ... Today's release at Sandringham hopes to mark the start of recovery for these unique and special birds."

As noted by the post, this is not Charles' first action taken on behalf of these birds, he also has "hosted Curlew Recovery Summits [and] launched the Curlew Recovery Partnership earlier this year."

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Prince Charles has been an ardent conservationist and environmental advocate for decades, with his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, previously joking that his eco-friendly mindset had rubbed off on them.

Harry, 36, said in 2018's BBC One documentary Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70 that he had inherited a "small habit" his father: "He's a stickler for turning lights off. And that's now something that I'm obsessed with as well."

William, 39, commiserated, "I know, I've got serious OCD on light switches now, which is terrible."

Harry even mentioned that he'd gotten his wife, Meghan Markle, into the practice and added of Charles, "I think it's one of the key lessons that he taught us."