A right Royal visit to Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe reserve

King Charles III met Natural England staff alongside partner organisations when he visited the Lincolnshire Coast in July 2023.

His Majesty visited the Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe Nature Reserve, which forms part of the new Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR, in July 2023 and took part in filming with the chairman of Natural England, Tony Juniper.

Footage was included in Charles III: The Coronation Year, a 90-minute documentary that was broadcast on BBC One on Boxing Day and is now available on iPlayer.

The Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR was officially declared in September 2023 and is the first in a new King’s Series of NNRs created by Natural England to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.

Sunrise over the Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe Nature Reserve.

During his visit, King Charles met staff from Natural England and the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to gain an insight into their management of Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe Nature Reserve, work that is closely aligned to King Charles’ interest in nature.

In the documentary, King Charles chatted to Tony Juniper about the importance of nature restoration and learned about efforts to conserve natterjack toads and butterflies, and Hi Majesty also released a gatekeeper butterfly.

Tony said: “One of the things about King Charles’ contribution on the environment is that not only does he have enormous depth to what he thinks and says, but also enormous longevity on his contribution. He is possibly the most important environmentalist the world has seen, given that he’s been doing it for 50 years and he’s been ahead of the curve on pretty much every single subject.

“I think his motivation comes from his love of nature, his continuing interactions with nature and the fact that we can still make a difference if we wish to. Like all environmentalists King Charles I think is an optimist. Considering the effort that he still puts in to trying to get people to come together and think about solutions, you have to be an optimist to want to invest the time in that kind of process.”

Saltfleetby sand dunes. Photo: Natural England Paul Glendell

The Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR is the first in the new King’s Series of National Nature Reserves, committed to enhancing biodiversity and nature recovery while connecting people with nature.

It covers 33 square kilometres along almost 30 kilometres of the Greater Lincolnshire coast containing a rich variety of sand dunes, salt marshes, mudflats and freshwater marshes which are of international importance.

Declan Crace, Natural England’s East Midlands Team Leader for National Nature Reserves and Connecting People with Nature, said:

“The visit was a wonderful opportunity to meet King Charles and discuss the fantastic work that takes place at the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR. King Charles was warm and engaging and showed a keen interest in our work, something which was well reflected in the documentary. I’d like to thank my team for their continued hard work and dedication, and for helping to make the visit a success.”

Charles III: The Coronation Year offers a unique insight into the life of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and takes viewers behind the scenes of the first year of the reign of King Charles. The cameras have followed the King and Queen as they embrace their new roles and carry out their work and duties. Narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, the programme was aired on Boxing Day 2023 as part of the BBC’s Christmas offering and remains available on iPlayer.

Find out more about the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR by visiting https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-kings-series-national-nature-reserve-on-lincolnshire-coast.