--- title: "King Charles Fights Climate Change by Freezing His Servants" description: "King Charles III is a committed environmentalist — so much so that he's reportedly sacrificing his servants' body temps for his cause. Brave!" date: "2023-05-30" modified: "2023-05-30" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/king-charles-climate-change-pool" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "carbon footprint" - "climate change" - "royal family" - "the digest" --- # King Charles Fights Climate Change by Freezing His Servants ![King Charles III is a committed environmentalist — so much so that he's reportedly sacrificing his servants' body temps for his cause. Brave!]() *TOPSHOT - Britain's King Charles III wearing the Imperial state Crown, waves from the Buckingham Palace balcony after viewing the Royal Air Force fly-past in central London on May 6, 2023, after his coronation. - The set-piece coronation is the first in Britain in 70 years, and only the second in history to be televised. Charles will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Brrrrrrr If you haven't heard, Great Britain's newly-anointed monarch, King Charles III, is a committed environmentalist — so committed, in fact, that he's sacrificing his servants' body temperatures for his cause. Brave! As sources [recently told *The Times*](), King Charles has kicked off his reign with an effort to conserve energy by turning the heat on the palace pool way down. As a result, the servants who once enjoyed the water feature — a notable-sounding perk of working at the palace — have been left shivering. "A few people using the pool have noticed that the temperature of the water has dropped, and it is quite a bit cooler than it used to be," an anonymous palace source told the *Times*. "They have been told the King has had the heating turned down." A sacrifice indeed, but rest assured, [it's one that Charles is willing to make](). After all, someone's gotta save the planet — and skimping on the heated pool ought to offset those [private jet]() emissions, right? ## Climate King According to the *Times* report, Charles is also seeking a private chef who, one day a week, can cook vegan meals for the Sustainability King. "Charles follows a vegan diet one day a week where he avoids eating meat, fish, and dairy products for environmental reasons," a source told the *Times*. "And he has also been keen to reduce the royal household's energy use, which has been a priority of his in recent years." To be fair, Buckingham Palace is [absolutely massive](), so watching its energy use is a good idea. And there's a [solid environmental argument]() for going without animal products from time to time. That said, though, [as *The Washington Post* pointed out last year](), Charles' relationship to the climate and sustainability isn't that simple. While he's spent decades [decrying industrial farming]() and telling world leaders at 2021's COP26 Climate Conference to take a "[warlike footing]()" against climate change, he and the rest of the royal family, [due to their sheer wealth and lavish lifestyles](), have a massively outsized carbon footprint compared to the average bloke. And among some [wind turbine-related]() [flip-flopping](), he's also said some [questionable things]() about population growth. But, hey, it's something. God save the King! **More on climate change:** [*Climate Change Linked to Increased Pirate Attacks*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()