William and Harry taken litter picking by their dad

PRINCES William and Harry have revealed that Prince Charles once took them ‘litter picking’ during a holiday in Norfolk.

The Prince of Wales, well known for his fervent interest in environmental causes, gave his sons steel spikes and black plastic bags and set them to work. ‘He took us litter picking... Both of us thought, “This is perfectly normal, everyone must do it.” We’re there with our spikes stabbing the rubbish into black plastic bags,’ Prince William tells a BBC documentary to mark Charles’s forthcoming 70th birthday.

He adds that his father lives ‘the way he advocates’ when it comes to his environmental beliefs.

In the film, the brothers watch a recording of Charles giving a remarkably prescient speech in 1970 in which he mentions the problems presented by an increasingly throwaway plastic society. William admits his father was affected by the backlash he received for his environmental views, which saw him ridiculed for supposedly talking to plants.

The documentary – Prince, Son And Heir: Charles At 70 – will be broadcast on BBC1 on Thursday at 9pm.