More royals on the radio, please! First, Kate Middleton, then Meghan Markle and now King Charles are utilizing podcasts to get the word out about various causes that are close to their heart. In Charles’s case, this wasn’t his first time sitting down at the mic (#TBT to when he sounded off about his favorite songs for Apple Music earlier this year), but it was certainly a memorable one—mainly due to the person he was chatting with: Cate Blanchett.
King Charles Secretly Records Podcast with Surprise Guest
Hint: She’s a Hollywood A-lister
Published Oct 20, 2025
•3:33pm
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The Oscar-winning actress joined the monarch to discuss the Millennium Seed Bank, a initiative that was set up 25 years ago to help preserve nature by studying seeds to protect and restore global biodiversity before they’re wiped out by climate change and other environmental pressures.
The name of the podcast is called Unearthed and Blanchett and the king recorded their chat at Windsor Castle earlier this year in July. As Blanchett states in her introduction at the top of the episode: “The future of life on Earth may very well depend on the seeds stored within this bank.” Blanchett is also an ambassador for the Wakehurst, Sussex-based seed bank, run by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. (Dr. Elinor Breman, Kew’s senior research leader in seed conservation, also joined for the chat.)
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Blanchett has long been an environmental activist, having worked with Prince William since the inception of Earthshot, so it’s no surprise to see her picking up the mic to discuss this critical cause. What is a surprise is to see her joined by King Charles for such an informal—and impactful—conversation. That said, His Majesty has been championing environmental causes for decades. (Additionally, the royals continue to surprise us by popping up in the most unusual places to share their perspective—ahem, see Prince William and Eugene Levy.)
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The podcast—just 23 minutes in length—has the king and Blanchett discussing the challenges and solutions at hand when it comes to solving for these environmental problems. The king’s main perspective? “I think it’s wonderful what the seed bank is doing, but we’ve got to speed up the process.” (He also talked about one of his recent initiatives, called Coronation Meadows, which is a project he’s taken on to commemorate the coronation of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth.)
Overall, it’s an insightful episode and a reminder of the power the royals have when they pick up a mic and speak off the cuff.
