Kimya Glasgow

King Charles III quietly did something genuinely moving during his state visit to the United States. A lifelong environmentalist who has championed conservation for over five decades often at the cost of ridicule from the British press the King ended his trip by visiting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There, he sat with park rangers, swore in a new group of Junior Rangers, met Buddy the bald eagle, and unveiled a new partnership between Shenandoah and Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park. This is the same man who converted his own estate to organic farming back in 1986, long before it was fashionable. A foreign monarch showing up with real curiosity and respect for America’s public lands felt refreshingly sincere. And yet, it barely made a headline. That silence is telling. When a visiting head of state reminds us of the value of our own national parks more visibly than our own leadership, something has gone wrong. For decades, King Charles has put his credibility on the line for the natural world. Meanwhile, America’s public lands have faced aggressive rollbacks: the weakening of protections like the Roadless Rule, opening tens of millions of acres of national forests to logging and mining, and efforts to sell off large portions to private interests. It’s a stark contrast. One man has spent a lifetime planting trees and defending nature. The other treats the outdoors primarily as a backdrop for golf courses. Our public lands deserve better than being viewed as a development opportunity. They belong to all of us and they’re worth protecting, not selling.

They sit there denigrating the Sussexes every day yet will jump on a plane to follow them across the world to cover their engagements. British media and the haters need their heads examined.